neptune

[neptunetheplanet7]

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[neptunetheplanet7]

chapter 15: when he sees me

armin arlert x f!reader

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It had been a month and two weeks since you and Armin started dating, not that you were keeping track or anything.

The Valentine's Day dance was tonight. You and Mikasa were helping each other get ready before the boys arrived to pick you up.

You sat in front of your vanity painting your nails, very messily, you'll admit, while Mikasa was deeply focused on your hair.

Her tongue poked from the corner of her mouth as she methodically handled the curls. Her newly grown-out raven hair was spilling down her shoulders. Despite the dance's theme being romance, Mikasa stuck to her gothic look with a tulle long-sleeved black dress.

Your dress was satin and baby blue. The straps were tiny and the skirt flared out just enough. It was simple, but you loved it. You hoped Armin would too.

"Mikasa?"

"Mhm?" she mumbled, her focus on your hair.

"What if when he sees me, he doesn't like what he sees?"

She glanced up briefly. "Don't talk like that. Armin's obsessed with you."

"But what if he thinks I look weird in the dress or my nails look bad? What then?"

She was fighting the urge to roll her eyes. "He's seen you in a dress before. I doubt he'll even be looking at your nails. Now, let me focus."

You knew she was right like she always was. Being with Armin came naturally to you. The shift in your dynamic was subtle if not there at all.

He was less hesitant to hold your hand or to wrap an arm around your shoulders. It wasn't awkward, which was surprising considering how normally awkward the two of you were as people.

After the first week, Armin figured out how to compliment you without going into cardiac arrest. He really couldn't believe he got to be you. The feeling was mutual.

Mikasa finished off the last touch and smiled at you in the mirror. "All done," she said.

The doorbell rang and you rushed downstairs to get to the door before your little brother. Unfortunately, you were too late when you rounded the corner with Mikasa behind you.

"Y/n, your boyfriend's here," Luca said nonchalantly before going back to the basement to play his video game.

Armin and Eren stood at the door, the former gawking at you. Armin was wearing a vintage-looking black suit that was bigger around the middle and short around the ankles. It most likely belonged to his father.

You carefully stepped down the stairs, gripping the railing. You didn't need a broken ankle before a dance. Of course, Armin never took his eyes off you. It was a little embarrassing with you hobbling down the stairs. Mikasa did it effortlessly like she does most things.

"Wow- Uh- Y/n, you look...," Eren smacked his arm to get him to say something. "You look really pretty," he choked out.

"Thank you," you said quietly.

"Are the boys here? Let me come take pictures! Your father wants some," your mom called from the kitchen.

"Absolutely not." You hurried everyone out the door before she could stop you with the camera. If you let her take any pictures, she'd go overboard and you'd end up late. It happened before every school dance leading up to this one. Your friends were more than aware of her habits.

"Where's Jean?" you asked as you got into the backseat next to Armin.

"He ditched us for Marco. Can you believe?" Eren said exasperatedly.

Eren talked the entire ride to the school. None of you could get a word in while he ranted about some show he was watching. You were relieved to get out of the car.

Inside the gym, there were pink and red streamers decorating the ceiling. A disco ball shone brightly among them. There were snack tables on the left and a sign-in table on the right. The deejay was opposite the entrance. Music blasted through the speakers, filling the gym with sound.

The four of you signed in before meeting with your other friends. You found Jean through the crowd and went up to him, dragging Armin with you.

"Hey guys!" he yelled over the music.

"Hi Jean, Marco!" Marco only waved at you and smiled warmly.

"You enjoying yourselves? You know, Marco helped put a lot of this together. The disco ball was his idea," Jean said with a grin.

Marco rolled his eyes. "Stop it, Jean. It wasn't all me, for the record," he said to you and Armin.

"It looks great! We just got here so we're gonna go dance. I'll see you two later," you told them before taking Armin's hand again and leading him to the dance floor.

"Y/n, I don't dance," Armin said warily.

"You'll be fine. Just stick with me and try not to look awkward," you advised.

"But I am awkward."

You ignored him and started dancing anyways. Sasha, Connie, and a blond boy you'd never seen before in your life approached you.

"Y/n! Was I right or was I right? You and Armin are literally perfect for each other!" Sasha shouted.

Luckily Armin was too focused on busting a move to notice her words. "Thanks."

"We're geniuses," Connie chimed in.

"Sure, you are."

"Oh, how rude of me. This is my boyfriend, Niccolo. He goes to Marley," Sasha introduced the boy whose arm she was hanging on to.

"Hi," Niccolo said, looking incredibly uncomfortable.

"Uh, hey," you said while looking over his shoulder at someone approaching. "Sorry, I have to go."

"Y/n!" Reiner called. "Hey, long time no see."

"Yeah, it's been a while." You felt quite awkward. You and Reiner hadn't spoken since Pieck. Neither had you and Bertholdt or Annie. You saw them around, but they didn't go out of their way to talk to you.

"So I guess you and Pieck are over," he said bluntly, pointing at Armin.

"Uh, we weren't really together."

"Right. Bert and Annie wanted me to tell you congrats for them. So, congrats. I'll see you around," he said before walking back to his group.

"Bye, I guess." It was quite weird (and highly uncomfortable) for him to come up to you so out of the blue but nothing about Reiner was normal.

You turned to find Armin was no longer by your side. You were surrounded by people, but still alone. Pushing through the crowd, you found Armin sitting in a chair on the side of the gym.

"What's up? You not having fun?" you said upon reaching his seat.

"No," he admitted. "Do you wanna get out of here?"

"Honestly, yeah, I do." You'd been there for all of twenty minutes. You knew this wasn't Armin's scene in the least bit. You appreciated him wanting to come for you. Regularly, you were pretty quiet but things like this brought you out of your shell a bit more. But if Armin wasn't having fun, you weren't having fun. You wanted to go with him.

"Let's go for a walk," he said, taking your hand in his.

The cold air of the night tingled on your skin as the two of you exited the building. You shivered, causing Armin to take immediate action by removing his suit jacket and placing it over your shoulders.

"I guess I shouldn't have worn spaghetti straps, huh?" you said, leaning your head on his shoulder as you walked.

"You probably didn't think you'd be spending much time outside."

Your eyes shifted to look at his face. "I'm glad I am, though. I came here to spend tonight with you." His blush was visible even in the darkness.

He averted his eyes to the sidewalk. "Don't say corny stuff like that."

You let out a short, loud laugh. "Why not? Aren't you the one who speaks to me like you're a poet? At least let me do the same."

Then, he was smiling at you and rolling his eyes. It made your heart soar when you looked at him. Any other good feeling couldn't match his effect on you.

When he was looking at you like this, it was clear there was no one else he would rather be seeing. When he saw you, you were all he saw.

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[neptunetheplanet7]

chapter 14: everything changes

armin arlert x f!reader

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After your surprise confession on the field, you took advantage of Armin's bewildered wide eyes and gaping mouth by speed walking away from the situation.

He called after you several times but your legs moved faster than your brain worked. You could think later, your only goal was to get to your car as quickly as possible.

Now that it was later, and you had to actually deal with your problems, you didn't like your chances.

You're my best friend.

You clutched your pillow to your chest and shut your eyes tightly. Every time his words replayed in your mind you cringed.

What the hell compelled you to say something as life-altering as that at the worst possible time? The bandaid was officially ripped off but you wanted to stick it right back on the moment you saw the baffled look on Armin's face.

You didn't want to go back to ignoring him, but it's not like you actually had a choice to.

In the aftermath of Pieck, the dinner at Eren and Mikasa's house completely slipped your mind. It did explain to you why Eren would put that forged note on your locker. You knew Jean loved to meddle, but Eren was too engrossed in his own issues to notice anyone else's. Chances were, he didn't want any tension tonight, and you just royally messed up his shot at it.

You couldn't just not go. Carla was cooking. You would never miss a meal made by that woman. Plus, the whole avoidance thing only made you more upset. You would settle this tonight.

Walking into the Jaegers' home with Jean was like a breath of fresh air. He walked ahead of you into the kitchen to say hello to everyone while your senses were filled with the familiar smell of Carla's cooking. It was enough to forget your troubles for a minute.

"Y/n." The sound of your name falling from Armin's mouth pulled you from your trance. You turned slowly, swallowing your fear of confrontation.

He was leaning against the doorframe. You hadn't even noticed him open the front door behind you. He cleared his throat after scanning you up and down. "Talk to me. Alone," he said seriously, taking your arm in his and guiding you to the piano room off of the main entrance.

There was something different in the way he looked at you then. Something that made you know something had changed.

And boy, were you right. Armin only gained enough confidence just to say your name. When you faced him, any trace of it was gone. He felt like the wind was knocked out of him. If he didn't have the doorframe to stabilize him, he would have fallen to his knees.

When he saw you, it was like he never had before.

The way the dim light of the entryway accentuated your warm-toned clothing almost made the moment feel real. He couldn't stop his eyes from trailing over your body.

Did you always look like this or did his realization that he felt more for you somehow cause you to look this good? Oh, he felt more. So, so, so much more.

Even with your blank stare, messy hair, and wrinkled clothes, you looked nothing short of perfect. He wished his heart would stop making so much noise inside his chest.

You sat next to him on the piano bench. He retracted his arm quickly and let his fingers brush against the sleek black-painted wood. He opened his mouth and fumbled his words for a second, never once looking up to meet your eyes. He feared that if he did everything he felt would come spluttering out without control.

Your brows furrowed and you cautiously placed a shaking hand on his shoulder. Only then did he look up, brown eyes wide and lips parted. He gently took your hand off of his shoulder and placed it in between his on the bench. You said nothing. The look on your face urged him forward the way words couldn't.

He inhaled deeply. "I feel the same. Honestly, I think I always have. My life was miserable without you and I regret every second I spent pretending that you don't exist. I love you, I have loved you, and I will love you. Please forgive me." His eyes were big and pleading. His words were bolder than yours, incredibly so, but it felt so good to hear them.

A large smile was quick to spread across your face as you threw your arms around his neck and held him close. His arms circled your waist tightly. You felt him turn his head and smile into your neck.

You never wanted this to end. You and Armin, finally the way you were meant to be. No more obstacles, no more doubts, and no more sudden changes. This was perfect.

The two of you walked out of the room and back into the foyer. You were close beside him, fingers brushing against his. Neither of you could fight the smiles on your faces as you made your way through the hallways and into the dining room.

The three of them were already at the table. Jean and Eren were talking avidly about baseball-related things while Mikasa sat next to her brother, occasionally chiming in with her own thoughts.

Eren stopped talking immediately upon seeing you and Armin standing together in the doorway. "I guess you two made up." He sounded pleased but unsuspecting about what actually happened between you and went right on with his conversation.

Jean gave you a small smirk upon seeing the identical idiotic smiles you and Armin wore and glanced at Mikasa, who silently nodded in response.

Carla carried a glass dish of lasagna into the room and set it on the table. "Armin, Y/n, I'm so glad you made it! Please, sit down and help yourselves." She smiled warmly and you didn't hesitate to accept her invitation.

"Let me help you, mom," Eren said and stood from his chair to help bring out the rest of the food. Besides the mouth-watering lasagna, there was salad and a sliced baguette for bread.

When Eren sat back down and Carla went into the living room with Grisha, the five of you dug in almost immediately, but not without thanking the chef first.

The food was so good, none of you said anything and just ate. Jean kept humming obnoxiously beside you. His eyes were closed and he was really savoring it. "My god, your mother's a genius in the kitchen," Jean muttered.

"Thank you," Mikasa said contentedly.

You glanced up from your food to look at the blond boy across from you. Blushing furiously when he met your gaze, you smiled widely nonetheless. The corners of his mouth upturned as well and he pointed a slim finger right next to his mouth.

You quickly realized what he meant and grabbed the napkin from beside you to rapidly wipe off the sauce. Looking back at him, you mouthed, "Is it gone?"

He nodded with a thumbs up and beamed at you. You could probably spend your whole life doing this, staring into his eyes from across a dining room table.

You were too preoccupied to notice Eren whisper a certain word to Jean, so when his hand collided with the table right next to you, both you and Armin jumped in your seats.

You swatted at his arm, hoping he knew he ruined your romantic moment. "Ow, Y/n! You're so violent."

"You interrupted my meal."

"I don't know if that's what I was interrupting," he said smugly, sipping on his glass of water. You punched his arm and he spat the water back into the glass and onto his plate. Eren let out a bpisterous laugh and even Mikasa snorted. "Aw, shit, Y/n. You got my lasagna wet."

"All you." You grinned and started giggling. Soon enough, all of you were laughing and it was like nothing had ever changed in the first place.

After a night of laughing your asses off on the living room couch, watching bad movies, and Eren stealing beers from Zeke's mini-fridge in his old room, it was time to go.

You and Jean walked out to his car after saying goodbye to Eren and Mikasa. On the way out the door, you watched Eren shove Armin out before he closed it, snickering to himself as his sister walked out to her car. At this point, you thought Armin might never get his license.

Just before you opened the car door, Armin stopped you with a tap on the shoulder. "You know, Eren told me there was a dance coming up at the school. I don't really like that sort of thing but I know you do. If I asked, would you go with me?" he said, all while averting his eyes.

"I would," you said softly.

"Great," he said, raising his eyes to yours as a small smile danced on his lips.

The two of you stood there for a little bit. You hugged your coat closer as the winter breeze bristled through your hair. The only lighting came from the bulb on the front porch and Jean and Mikasa's headlights. The only sound was the gentle rumbling of the car beside you.

You didn't pay any mind to the fact that Jean was probably getting impatient with you. In that moment, you couldn't stop staring at the boy in front of you.

He looked older. Suddenly, he seemed so much more mature as he placed his glasses on top of his head, pushing his bangs away from his pale face. Was it possible he'd even grown taller?

This moment felt as though it was passing very slowly, like tree sap making its way down a branch. You wanted to be preserved in its amber forever.

He leaned down, cautiously pushing your wind-caught hair behind your ears. He pressed a hand on either side of your face and kissed you slowly. You stood where you were, and kissed him back with every unspoken passion in your heart.

It was the best feeling in the world. When you pulled away, you were both smiling and giggling quietly with cherry red faces. He quickly pecked your lips before walking to Mikasa's car, but not without stopping to look back at you.

"Do you know how hard I was fighting the urge to honk at you guys?" Jean said as soon as you entered the car.

"Shut up." You rolled your eyes.

"So I'm guessing you and Pieck aren't a thing anymore."

"Nope. The other night, she took me on a drive and told me she knew I wasn't ready to commit to her. She knew it wasn't her, but somebody else. It made me realize who I actually wanted to be with."

Jean's mouth hung open at the information. "Are you kidding me? I have told you this for I don't even know how long, and all it took was some Marleyan nobody to get you to finally use your brain? Unbelievable."

"Jean!"

"What? Have I not been telling you the exact same thing this whole time? Whatever, you totally didn't need to make out in front of me like that. It's unnatural." He shuddered for effect.

"Oh my god, just shut up and drive," you groaned, hiding your secret smile behind the sleeve of your coat.

You were happy knowing the hard part was over. Armin was yours. It felt easy, almost normal. A new kind of normal, one where everything changes.

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[neptunetheplanet7]

chapter 13: second chances

armin arlert x f!reader

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Jean walked down the hallway with power in his strides and fire in his eyes. "Eren!" The brunette in reference snapped his head up from his locker, scowling when he saw who scared him.

"What do you want?" he asked curtly.

"I need your help."

Eren scoffed. "You must be desperate." Jean's face made it clear that he was. Eren furrowed his brows. "What is it?"

"Y/n is acting super weird. There's something she's not telling me, I can feel it." He was right. You still had to figure things out for yourself. You were too busy processing the information to even think about telling anyone else.

"Did you ask Mikasa? It might be a girl thing," Eren suggested.

Jean shook his head. "She tells me all her girl things. Plus, I already asked Mikasa. She doesn't know anything and she wants no part in my plan."

"Plan?"

"What do you think about Armin and Y/n together?"

Eren looked surprised and shut his locker. "I think he's been rude to her lately and she doesn't need that kind of bullshit in a relationship."

Jean was shocked by Eren's sudden ability to come up with something logical. "Truth, but you know he has a jealousy problem."

"That's not really an excuse." Again, Eren's was spot on.

Jean rolled his eyes and continued. "Point is, I have a lot of evidence pointing to an attraction between them, and their avoidance to each other is breaking up the band."

Eren shrugged, folding his arms against his chest. "There's nothing we can really do about their feelings, no matter how much you like meddling in other people's lives." He began to walk away from Jean, thinking he effectively ended the conversation. Then, Jean said something that made him stop and listen.

"What if I told you there was?"

___

Armin was having the best day of his life, said sarcastically.

He couldn't get the image of you and Pieck out of his head. Even after two weeks, it was still burned into his mind.

Whenever he saw you it was only a reminder of that night. He hated ignoring you more than anything but any time he got near you, he felt a burning in his chest after remembering the way you kissed Pieck.

He wasn't dumb. He was acutely aware of his problem. Burning hot flames of jealousy overtook his mind ever since Pieck came into your life. He never felt more like a second choice yet he was the one pushing you away.

Confusion was never something he was all too familiar with. Everyone knew he was brilliant, even himself. So, when this reoccurring strike of lightning hit the same place in his heart over and over, he had to solve the mystery.

Jean made his matchmaking points but Armin was convinced his jealousy came from a place that still considered himself your first and best friend, as selfish as that was.

He hated the envious feelings toward a girl he didn't know at all. He tried to get rid of them by ignoring you altogether. That didn't work out the first time, what made him think it was working now?

It clearly isn't, he thought as he stared up at the note taped onto his locker.

Meet me on the soccer field to talk. - Y/n

___

As it turns out, Jean's plan actually had nothing to do with changing anyone's feelings and he hadn't thought anything through after the notes were planted. They were identical to each other besides the signatures.

Jean could forge your handwriting pretty well. Not so much with Armin, but you were on the field so he assumed it was believable.

Despite his original reluctance, Eren went along with this horribly drawn-up plan. He was easier to convince than Jean thought. He did know that he loved drama immensely, so he used that to manipulate him into coming with him so he wouldn't be the only one at fault if caught. Maybe he was just stupid enough to think it was a good idea.

You felt sick to your stomach. Pretending not to notice Eren and Jean snickering to each other behind the bleachers, your eyes avidly searched for Armin, who supposedly wanted to talk. Now that you were here, you were starting to think otherwise.

Whoever actually wrote the note, you were grateful that they did. Armin was extremely good at avoiding you. The suspense was absolutely killing you. You were just sitting in a puddle of feelings for him, all combined and confusing.

Part of you was angry at him for ignoring you. Another part was still coming to terms with the realization. The biggest part was sure you'd always known deep down that you loved him.

It was scary. The wound Pieck left was fresh and nothing good ever happened when you rushed your thinking process. You'd never forget the time Eren stressed you out so badly during a study session that the flashcards you wrote for all of your friends were entirely wrong and everyone blamed you for the failing grade they got. You didn't want to confront Armin this early, but when you saw him step onto the field, you knew you had no choice.

He continued to get closer and you felt your heart in your throat. Had he always been this attractive? It felt like you were seeing him for the first time as the weight of what you felt for him finally settled.

His glasses reflected the sun. The wind scattered his ashy blond hair across his pale face. His bony hands were tucked into the pockets of his corduroy jacket. He smiled awkwardly when he reached your position on the field.

Your face was so warm you forgot it was winter, even with the scattered patches of melting snow across the grass. You seriously thought you were about to have a heart attack. He was the same as always, only you were looking at him through a different lens.

You noticed the bright pink piece of paper sticking out of his pocket. "Goddamnit," you cursed.

"What?" he said, confused by the sudden breaking of silence.

"What's that paper?"

He looked more confused. "Shouldn't you know? You taped it to my locker. You wanted to talk?"

"If I wanted to talk, I would've texted you. I also would've had you meet me in the library. You know I hate soccer." You unfolded the paper in your fist for him to read.

"Then who—" He didn't finish the question as his eyes gravitated towards the bleachers before rolling them effectively.

"They think they're so slick," you said, laughing a little. When Armin laughed too, some of the thick tension was lifted.

He cleared his throat. "I should apologize."

"Yeah, you should," you said bitterly, despite how just being near him made your heart rate quicken. "This is, what? The second time you've done this in a month?"

He ran a ran over his face and through his hair. "I know, I know."

"Do you? then do you have an explanation?" You were having trouble staying mad at him. You didn't think his presence alone would send you into a spiral and make you completely forget your anger. Every feeling of uncertainty disappeared the moment he walked onto the field. For you, it was only Armin.

"Yes, this time I do." He sounded so sure of himself that it made you nervous. "I was jealous," he said simply.

"Jealous? Jealous of what?" you asked, although you had an idea based on the theories Jean had been putting in your head for months now.

"You know. Of Pieck." He looked embarrassed to say it but you were overjoyed to hear it. Armin had been jealous all along. It explained so much, and you would never, ever admit to Jean that he was right all along.

"Pieck?" You continued to act oblivious even though this basically gave you the go-ahead.

His face reddened even more. "Yes."

You didn't have time for overthinking when you both opened your mouths to say something completely different at the same time.

"I mean, you're my best friend so—"

"I like you, Armin."

Shit.

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[neptunetheplanet7]

chapter 12: midnight drive

armin arlert x f!reader

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You sat in the middle of your bed, staring down at a text message on the phone in front of you. You were grateful your read receipts were turned off, giving you plenty of time to formulate a response. Granted, that response was "yeah".

Your curtains were drawn. At this point in the night, it was so dark that it seemed light. She insisted on coming at midnight. The clock read 11:56.

When Pieck texted you, you felt several emotions all at once. Relief, confusion, then anger. Who did she think she was? Who was she to text you a full two weeks after a social media scandal that involved the both of you and then invite you to go on a drive at midnight on a Monday --technically a Tuesday?

If you weren't desperate to hear the other side of the story, you would have kept your self-respect and not answered the woman who ghosted you after kissing you at your own party. Not that you would have responded if she did text you, but at least you had a decent explanation for ignorance.

MESSAGES, NOW Pieck: here

Twelve o'clock. Right on time.

You opened the door to her dark blue car and was met with a blank stare from the glasses-wearing girl in the driver's seat. She wore pajamas and her hair was mussed. She said nothing.

The car was silent as she pulled around corners and drove up streets. She came to a stop on top of a grassy hill where the snow melted. You were too stubborn (or too intimidated) to say the first word.

She put the car in park and took the keys out of the ignition, making everything go dark. She sat back in her seat and stared at the starless sky through the window. "This is what it felt like after I kissed you. I expected there to be something. But there was nothing. No reason, no stars in sight. I shouldn't have done it."

"I don't understand," and you didn't. She was speaking in metaphors, as Armin did. "Why are we here, Pieck? Why have I heard nothing from you for two weeks?"

She shrugged, still looking straight ahead. "I was scared. Angry at Porco, we all were. But I was confused most of all. I thought you liked me. Fuck, I thought so many things about us."

"I'm not following, Pieck."

She turned her head, her smile looking out of place. "I wanted you so badly, but I knew there was something in the way. I think I've known it since the very first day."

"Pieck, I seriously do not fucking know what you're talking about. Please be straight with me," you said. Your eyes started to water from the frustration. You just wanted the answer, but you feared you already knew what she meant.

She laughed for some reason. "It's not in my nature to give up on anything, but I know your heart's not in it. You're not entirely sure of us." She made a back-and-forth finger motion between you two. "That kiss confirmed it. Even drunk, you weren't fully there. I could see it in your eyes, something or someone else was in the back of your mind, like always. When I saw the look on Armin's face afterward, everything finally clicked."

You underestimated how smart she really was. Your eyes widened as it started to click for you too. There was always that something. That bad feeling you got every time the two of you got one step closer to a real relationship. Every time you thought about Pieck, Armin came in second.

You blamed the excess thoughts about him on your close friendship. But Jean was closer, and you never thought about him in a hypothetical romantic way. You never thought that way about any of your friends, except Armin.

When you thought about Pieck, Armin's name would pop up next. What about Armin? What about him? Now you knew.

He was a second thought, but he wasn't in second place. He always came first to you. Whatever anger you felt at him before had dissipated completely.

It felt extremely personal when he avoided you. There was never a time you hated more than that. When you hung out, there was always that heat in your face and the sense of giddiness when you were near him. You hadn't felt that since Pieck came into your life. You saw him much less than you usually would. You realized what that something was. The way he made you feel was missing from your life and you didn't even know it was different than everyone else.

"Holy shit." You let out a breathy laugh and rubbed a hand over your face. Pieck was no longer smiling. She had come to terms with the facts but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

"Be with him instead of wasting more time on me." She didn't say it bitterly, but you could hear the sadness in her voice as she started the car, making it light up once more.

When she found the road again, you finally asked for the story. "What happened to the picture? Jean said the Marley kids at our school aren't my biggest fans. Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie just looked plain sorry for me. Eren said it was gone though."

Her jaw tightened but she knew you would ask about it sooner or later. This was looking to be your last interaction for a while. "It's a hot topic at my school. I run with a more popular crowd so everyone's shocked I'm gay. Whoever isn't your fan can shove it because there's no reason for them to hate you. Porco and I haven't spoken to those three in a week."

"You and Porco are on good terms?" you asked, very surprised.

"No one else likes him right now even though Marcel and I forgave him. We're the only people who should matter but others like to latch on to things. Porco's popular but he isn't well-liked by some people so this is like gold to those who like painting him as a villain. He posted it drunk, and I screamed at him during his hangover. I was so pissed. One thing about Porco you just have to learn is that he does very stupid things sometimes. He's gotten better since high school started, but he has his slip-ups. He took it down as soon as he realized how mad and how right I was. Annie, Reiner, and Bertholdt wouldn't forgive him for this. Ironic since Annie and Bertholdt are two of the most rational people I know. I'd just give them time."

It was quite a bit to process, but you trusted her. She knew that group best. She didn't give you any time to let it all sink in before coming to a stop in front of your house.

"I'd say we should still be friends but I honestly think it would be too hard for me to stay friends with you. Platonic is not the word I think of when I think of you." She turned to face you again and placed one hand over yours before letting you get out of the car.

"This was really nice while it lasted, Y/n," was the last thing she said before speeding off while you could only watch silently from the driveway.

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[neptunetheplanet7]

chapter 11: screwed

armin arlert x f!reader

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A soft ding startled you from your sleep that morning.

You sat up, your blankets pooling by your waist. You rubbed your sleep-heavy eyes and ran a hand through your disheveled hair, wanting more than anything to go back to sleep.

Your eyes shifted to the other figure in the room. Your best friend was passed out on the floor next to your bed, an empty beer bottle in hand.

The sight of Jean didn't surprise you as much as it should have. Giving a small grunt of acknowledgment, you rubbed your eyes again with the palms of your hands.

There was no doubt you went to sleep late last night, the earlier memories of the party starting to flow back into your pounding head.

Your phone dinged again and you remembered why you were awake in the first place. You leaned over and grabbed it off of the nightstand, the notifications on your lock screen surprising you.

_

MESSAGES, NOW Mom: I'm driving home. Your father and Luca are staying in Stohess for another day.

MESSAGES, 2 MINUTES AGO Mom: Care to tell me why there's Ring footage of a blond teenager saying, "Awesome party, Y/n. Your nerdy friend owes me new Yeezys"? I'm calling Mrs. Arlert.

MESSAGES, 2:36 A.M. mikasa💕: https://www.instagram.com/porcogalliard

INSTAGRAM, 2:07 A.M. connie springer babay🤪🤪: DID YOU SEE PORCOS POST??? congrats on the bitches!

INSTAGRAM, 1:59 A.M. eren jaeger ig: don't be mad but i just threw up in your mom's room

SNAPCHAT, 1:51 A.M. Historia Reiss🌸🌸 sent a Snap

INSTAGRAM, 1:43 A.M. porcogalliard tagged you in a post

_

You tapped on the oldest Instagram notification and let out a shrill shriek at what you saw. "I'm totally fucked!"

Jean jolted awake and groaned. "Is there a fucking fire? Please don't yell."

"No, no, no, no!" The fact that you kissed Pieck the night before completely slipped your mind in the hazy state of waking up. Porco's newest Instagram post reminded you of the truth.

With an innocent caption of, "y/n's party was a blast", the post seemed harmless until you swiped to the third image in the selection.

It was such good quality too, you couldn't help but think deeper about this. Was Porco also a photographer? That doesn't fucking matter! Look at the comments!

Sure enough, the amount of "Looks like Pieck had fun lol" comments from Marleyan students you didn't even know dwarfed the number of comments from students at Shiganshina.

How many followers does Porco even have? 4,273! How many people does he know?

Jean had managed to stand up from the floor and look over at your phone. He let out a whistle. "Oh, yeah, you're screwed."

"As if this couldn't get any worse, my mother is driving home right now! She'd have an hour to go before she gets here but with all the laws she's probably breaking, she'll get here in thirty."

"That sounds like a you problem," Jean said. His hangover attitude was not something you wanted to deal with on top of everything else.

"Who are you, Eren?"

Of course, you forgot about the doorbell. A party hadn't been thrown at your house since the beginning of summer vacation, a month before its installation. It had never been a concern before.

More importantly, two imperative people were missing from the notifications. You could only assume Reiner meant Armin, so he was probably suffering from a hangover of his own.

Pieck was the other woman in the photo and she hadn't bothered contacting you at all. What did it mean? You were both drunk, so maybe nothing. That feeling of doubt was back and pounding inside your head like a mallet.

Thoughts swam through your mind. Pieck's elevated feelings for you were an obvious suspicion you held inside for weeks. You couldn't figure out your feelings for her. That was what had stopped you the whole time. She liked you but you didn't know how you felt.

Then there was Armin. When he ignored you, you hated it. It was confusing and annoying. It was when you wanted his attention most. A single from him now would be comforting, even if it was sent with malicious intent. You just wanted to hear from him. You just got him back.

You sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of your nose. "Go home, Jean."

"What about the mess?"

"Just go. I'm already busted." You slumped back down on the bed, tossing your phone to the floor. Jean nodded and pulled the covers over your shoulders.

Your bedroom door closed softly behind him and you heard his steps as he padded down the staircase. You shoved your face into your pillow and screamed until you fell back asleep.

When you awoke, you were greeted by the sight of your mother. She was furious and snapping her fingers in your face. She was so mad that she let out a huff and left the room with no words.

You scrambled to get out of the tangled sheets, glancing at the clock which read 10:15 A.M. Your phone was gone. She must have taken it already.

Preparing for the lecture that awaited you down the stairs, you reluctantly climbed out of bed. Thus began the worst week of your life.

You had never been more bored of your own house. After your mother got home, she wasted no time punishing you severely.

She took away your phone and your car keys. This left you with no way of sorting out the social media situation. You weren't allowed to speak with any friends or leave your house for the entire two weeks. If you weren't so scholarly and read for fun, you might have just about died of boredom.

When your father and brother got home later that week, you were relieved in a way. Sure, your dad was furious, but anything was better than being stuck with your mom who did nothing but stare at you disappointedly.

This was hell, but you'd rather stay there than go back to school.

Reluctantly, you were given back your stuff. Texts from anyone and everyone surfaced as you turned your phone back on. Again, there were two people still missing from the picture. Armin and Pieck hadn't done so much as to shoot you a text. Just peachy.

You climbed into your car and Luca got into the passenger seat. He knew it was better to keep quiet than to ask. Smart kid.

You felt more and more nauseous as your tiny sedan got closer and closer to the school. Sighing as you took your keys out of the ignition, you and your brother stepped out into the student lot. The sun was out and melting the snow around the school's entrance.

You grabbed the metal handle and swung it open, greeted by the long, yellowed hallway. The walk had been dreadful and forever.

Your homeroom classroom had few students when you walked in, but all eyes were on you. Some of them hadn't even attended the party.

When your friends showed up, Mikasa and Eren were overjoyed to find you were alive. Armin said nothing. He didn't even look at you.

"What the hell happened to you, party girl?" Eren smacked your arm and bit down on his lip in a grin.

You filled them in on the lengths and severity of your punishment. The two nodded along and said they were busted too. Jean and Armin had their parents called too, also getting them into trouble. You apologized for being the cause of their suffering but you weren't all that sorry since you got the worst of it.

By lunchtime, you'd gotten your fair share of stares. Some were disgusted, some were congratulating. Overall, people just looked. The whispers were either pitiful or condescending. It felt like everyone was looking at you.

Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, and even Hitch stared at you as you walked over to your table. It didn't matter when you saw the judgement free looks your friends wore. Most of them, at least.

"Where's Armin?"

Jean grimaced. "About that..."

"He's totally ignoring you!" Eren blurted. It clearly pissed him off.

"He's a boy, Y/n. He needs to grow up but he doesn't have the brainpower to do so," said Mikasa.

"Okay, I'm just going to stop ignoring the elephant in the room. The picture? I can only guess that Porco posted that without your permission. It's not even up anymore," Eren clarified, as usual.

"I feel like everyone's looking at me," you confessed, breathing out slowly.

"That's because they are. I heard some Marley transfers talking about what a slut you are." Jean was always the brutally honest one.

"Are you kidding? Why is this such a big deal? Is it because I kissed a woman? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought this was supposed to be a rather progressive school," you pointed out, growing angrier by the minute.

"Nobody would care if he didn't post anything," Eren said. It was something Armin would have said if he wasn't doing anything else except talking to you. What a child.

As you concluded that Armin was being completely immature, your phone buzzed. What awaited you shocked you to your core.

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[neptunetheplanet7]

chapter 10: the prohibited party

armin arlert x f!reader

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Paradis, despite its similarity to the word 'paradise', was anything but during the winter. You hated driving in the snow, especially when the snowbanks on the side of the road were taller than you, thanks to the plow. Plus, you had a talkative little brother who you sometimes had to take up the responsibility of driving home.

The week had gone by fairly quickly. Everything seemed to be back in order like it was before the drama that came with Marley. Your relationship with Armin had returned to normal (thank God, it was driving Jean insane).

You could finally relax about his interesting moods. The attention that had previously gone into worrying about Armin turned into thoughts about Pieck. As always, when you were with her you felt pretty good about what you two had going on, but then again, you still couldn't shake the feeling of something missing.

Jean was quite insistent that maybe what you had going on with Pieck wasn't right for you. Maybe there was someone else you should give a chance. Whatever exaggerated eye roll he imagined he'd get from the subtle insinuation about Armin, the one you gave was more elaborate and came with getting whacked by a couch pillow.

He was meddling safely enough to not totally piss you off but you also felt like there was something he knew about the other party involved that you didn't.

On the bright side, nobody was beefing with Marley anymore and it was quite peaceful knowing how swell everything was going. That's why you decided it was the perfect time to throw an absolute rager kick-off winter break.

You've hosted one or two parties at your house before. It was always because Eren persuaded you to on the off chance your family was out of town. The first few days of break were one of these rare chances.

It was the perfect opportunity. You had two weeks of total freedom this year due to the Shiganshina High calendar's issue with scheduling things right. You'd spend the first day of the break partying with all your friends and the rest doing whatever you wanted. You were looking forward to it immensely.

Your parents were adamant about no parties while they took your brother to one of his academic competitions out of Paradis. Having said that, you told Eren to come over as soon as they were out the door.

"You and those damn bagel bites," Eren mumbled as he shook his head. You were rummaging through your freezer for some more snacks, specifically your favorite.

Saturday, December 19th. It was six at night, already dark outside. You made sure your mother wouldn't call home tonight by telling her Eren, Mikasa, Jean, and Armin were coming over to spend the night. This sleepover disguise prevented their parents from asking questions as well.

Eren came over early to help you set up. He always knew what to bring to parties, his being the most infamous in Paradis.

The two of you finished putting out all the snacks and drinks (beers snuck straight from Zeke's "hidden" mini fridge in Eren's basement) just as the doorbell rang for the first time that night.

Mikasa was there. Then came Jean. Then Armin. Soon enough, your house was starting to fill with students from Paradis and Marley alike. All feuds seemed to be forgotten somehow, even though you could see some baseball players, including Eren and Porco, staring each other down from across the room.

Drinks were passed around, beer pong was a hit, music blasted through your father's surround sound system, and if a vase of your mother's had broken you couldn't bring yourself to care very much.

You loved big parties like these. Your most favorite activity was letting yourself go every once in a while. You didn't always need to take things so seriously. So there you were, in the middle of a big group of Shiganshina High students, dancing away.

Admittedly, you were a few beers deep thirty minutes into the party. You didn't even notice Pieck coming up behind you, pushing through the crowd to tap on your shoulder.

"Hi, Pieck!" You greeted cheerfully after turning to face her. Her hair was down and long enough to touch her strapless shimmery dress.

She grinned in return. "Cool party, Y/n!" she shouted over the blaring music.

"Right?" was the last thing you said before taking her hands and continuing to dance but with her in front of you.

Armin's eyes filled with jealousy as he watched you and Pieck from his spot officiating beer pong. Jean, ever conspiring, took notice almost immediately and set down his ping pong ball, leaving Reiner, his opponent, in drunken confusion.

"Smack," he whispered to Armin, whose head snapped up to meet his eyes.

"What? You know I don't play that." Their attitude didn't strike Jean and he stayed unfazed.

"It's your punishment for moping around at a party. Y/n's party," Jean was a lot blunter when tipsy.

Armin rolled his eyes and smacked the table loudly, sending some Solo cups over and startling Bertholdt but it wasn't loud enough to garner a reaction from you. That's all he wanted, really. Your attention.

"Dude, was that a fucking earthquake?" Reiner gripped the table and stared at the sloshing beer before Jean flicked his ping pong ball at his head. He took hold of Armin's forearm and dragged him away from the table, allowing Ymir to gladly take his place in a face-off against Reiner.

"What's your problem? Oh wait, I already know the answer. If you're so in love with Y/n, go tell her before it's too late for you," Jean said once they got to an empty part of the kitchen. There was still a clear view of you and Pieck in the middle of a dance circle that Armin had his eyes glued on.

"I'm not in love with her, stop saying that." Armin reddened quickly.

Jean sighed exasperatedly. "Then stop acting like you are!" He was an angry drunk too.

As his brunette friend disappeared into the crowd after finding Eren and Marco, Armin sunk down onto the stairs, alone.

Mikasa passed him once and gave him a funny look before heading up the stairs on her own. He must have adorned a sour expression if she didn't bother acknowledging him.

Jean was right, he was a being complete and total buzzkill right now.

He was also acting like he was in love with you. Staring at you from across the room, jealousy apparent on his face.

You were dancing with Pieck and you looked happy. You looked like you didn't need some nerdy blond kid you'd known since before middle school confessing his undying love for you.

But he wasn't in love with you! God, this was confusing. The alcohol must be fucking with his brain.

"I need to go to the bathroom," he mumbled to no one. When he stood up and saw the overhead view of the crowded living room from over the railing he held onto, his eyes widened and his jaw fell open.

A loud and dragged-out "Oh!" sounded from Porco's mouth. Armin couldn't believe what he was seeing. Your lips, the ones he'd shamefully thought about kissing before, were on Pieck's.

Your hands were deep in her dark hair and hers were on your hips, pulling you in. She was smiling into the kiss.

Jean glanced at the staircase and his face read, "I told you so."

Armin felt like he was going to be sick.

"Agh! Dude, you homophobic or something?" Reiner exclaimed after Armin's sickness wasn't just a feeling. He vomited all over Reiner's Yeezys. How embarrassing.

"Sorry," he muttered and rushed up the stairs.

You pulled back from Pieck after he'd gone, a woozy smile gracing your features. You looked around the room, scouting out each of your friends. Most of them looked just as triumphant as you.

Jean stood next to Marco. He shook his head in disappointment as your smile fell. He knew this felt right now, but it wouldn't soon. Even drunk, both of you knew that.

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[neptunetheplanet7]

chapter 9: jean gets some balls

armin arlert x f!reader

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"Today is the day!" Jean stressed again. You twirled your pencil between your fingers, bored out of your mind. Bio was a class you had a love-hate relationship with. Your teacher was great but the work. . . not so much.

"So you've said," you responded to Jean's repeated statement.

"I'm gonna tell him today, Y/n. I swear it." He wore a smile big enough to break his face. Confidence washed over him seemingly out of nowhere. He went from avoiding the topic of Marco to absolutely beaming when the name was mentioned.

"I believe in you, Jean." You looked at Teacher Hange's desk behind you, making sure they were focused on something else as you glanced over at Mikasa's paper.

The girl beside you was paying much better attention. She snatched her paper away and covered her answers.

Frowning, you glanced toward the dreamy stare Jean bore as his head slumped against his palm.

Your frown deepened. You didn't look at Pieck like that.

The class seemed to drown on for hours before photography, which took even longer. Eventually, lunchtime rolled around and your best friend was even more worked up.

"Today is the day!" Jean stated one more time.

"Is it?" Eren said, exasperated. He was already tired of Jean and it hadn't been five minutes since he sat down.

"You go, Jean! I know it's not easy telling people how you feel," Armin said the most he's said in weeks, his mood strangely lifted. Maybe Jean's confidence was giving him some of his own. A more upbeat attitude was needed in a situation like this one, especially on a Monday.

"You would know," Jean said quietly, only loud enough for Armin to hear. The tips of their ears went red hot and they were glad for the blonde tresses that covered them. Recently, Jean had been questioning him incessantly about his bad mood and, believe it or not, his feelings for you.

While you were out with your new Marleyan friends, Jean was over Armin's house, attempting to fix his horrible mood. He had grown sick of Armin's fleeting stares and scowls towards your newfound friends.

Armin denied all claims of jealousy, too prideful to admit his veil of kindness had fallen. He wouldn't submit to Jean's careful prying, but when he brought up the very idea of Armin liking you, he turned crimson.

That was all the information Jean needed. He always suspected something between the two of you since the day you met and he never failed to let you know that. He loved to tease you about it, but Armin always seemed much too reserved for that treatment. They shared a different friendship than the two of you.

Jean was slowly gathering the courage to confess his feelings to Marco for weeks on end but the silent "confirmation" of Armin's feelings was the extra push he needed.

If he could show Armin it wasn't so hard, maybe they'd find a way to tell you. Jean was very aware of your growing situation with Pieck and he was also aware of your nagging feeling that whatever you had with Pieck wasn't something you really wanted.

You were his best friend. You'd confide in him about anything, yet Armin seemed to be a topic you liked keeping to yourself. And he, the hopeless romantic, wanted you to spend your time with someone you were sure of. The something that always felt off, the something you'd never be rid of no matter how long you spent Pieck's presence, was caused by Armin. Jean knew it.

With a newly realized motivation, Jean took a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket and placed it in front of you.

"What's this?" you questioned, picking it up and unfolding it hesitantly.

"Is that a fucking love letter, Kirstein?" Eren was sitting right next to you. He didn't need to yell, but he did.

"Jesus, Eren. Keep it down maybe," you hushed him as Jean turned a deep scarlet.

Your eyes scanned the letter, messy handwriting scrawled beautiful words across the paper. Eren crinkled his nose as he peered over your shoulder. Armin and Mikasa leaned forward from their side of the table, hoping for a better view.

"'Your eyes are my oasis'? What the fuck does that mean?" You commented with a teasing tone, a grin that Jean was sure made Armin weak etching your skin.

"It's poetic!" Jean justified his own writing.

"It's pathetic. See, I can be a poet too. That rhymed," Eren said, showing a clear detest to the romantic words from the page. "I'm like Edgar Allen Poe."

"You totally are," Armin agreed before slamming Eren's hopes, "Edgar Allen Poe was an emo bitch, just like you."

Eren's jaw dropped as you snorted at the comment. "What's gotten into you today? That was totally out of character for you."

Armin shrugged and took the paper from your hands, making sure to brush his fingers against yours. Heat rushed to your neck at the fleeting contact. You were surprised that he'd even come close to you with the way he'd been avoiding you.

"I think it's sweet," he said after reading through the letter. Mikasa nodded in agreement with a small smile on her lips.

Jean snatched back the piece of paper and struggled to get his long legs out from under the table. "I'm going in," he stated as he watched Marco leave his table and head towards the microwave at the back of the cafeteria.

"There he goes," you said as Jean strode on the same path Marco followed. You and Eren turned around in your seats to watch, Mikasa scolding you for staring although she and Armin were doing the same.

You watched intently as Jean fumbled with the paper in his hands before handing it to the freckled boy before him.

Eren whistled lowly. "Man has no game." You smacked his chest and told him to be quiet.

Jean stood there awkwardly as Marco's eyebrows shot up at the words on the paper in his hands. Jean looked away bashfully as Marco glanced upwards with a huge grin.

Armin and Mikasa were leaning so far forward you could smell Mikasa's lavender perfume. The four of you observed the scene with watchful eyes. You gripped Eren's arm in anticipation.

Marco tucked the letter into his pocket and the microwave dinged. He ignored the signal and started talking animatedly to Jean, who did nothing but stare at him with wide eyes and a slack jaw.

When Jean found enough words to respond, his wide smile did all the talking you needed. You breathed a sigh of relief as he walked back to your table, a bit of pep in his step.

"Well?" you inquired with a smile that matched his own.

He grinned wider. "I guess I have a boyfriend now."

___

You were happy for Jean, incredibly happy. But when you have to walk alone in the snow to your car because he'd rather ditch you for his new companion, you were less happy.

"Y/n! Wait up!" a shrill voice broke the silence in the parking lot, startling you so bad you nearly dropped your keys. Snapping your head up, you were surprised to see Armin was the one calling your name.

"Armin," you said finally once he stopped right behind your car.

"No Jean?" he asked, eyebrows furrowing.

"Not today," you internally cursed the boy for putting you in a situation you were sure to make awkward. "He's off with Marco."

"Oh," Armin replied shortly, looking down at his dragging foot in the snow.

Sensing the unspoken tension, it was only like you to break it in the worst way possible. "Finally speaking to me again, are you?"

He fixed his gaze on yours fast, seemingly shocked that you would even say anything at all. "I'm sorry," he blurted quickly and looked back down.

You pulled your puffer jacket closer to your body. "I get that I haven't been around as much but please don't let me lose you," you said half-jokingly.

"I'm sorry." It was the only thing he could muster. What kind of a friend was he? Practically ignoring you to finally acknowledging your existence after two long weeks, yeah, he knew you probably weren't his biggest fan.

You sighed, figuring this would be a short-lived conversation. Unlocking your car, Armin finally came up with something to say.

"It feels like we haven't talked in forever." What a stupid thing to say, he thought. But it made you stop and all he needed was your attention. "I know it's my fault. I've been a little down in the dumps lately and I'm not sure why. I do miss talking to you and I just can't figure out why I'd let something I love so much slip through my fingers like that." His face was beginning to heat up from the words that he meant so sincerely. "Friends again?"

You couldn't help but smile. Based on the nervous eyeing and the tiny foot taps he was doing, you could tell he was being genuine. More than that, how could you say no to the boy who's sparked your interest since day one. "Friends always."

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[neptunetheplanet7]

chapter 8: more than friends?

armin arlert x f!reader

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It had been almost two full weeks since your short-lived library talk with Armin. Whenever you tried to speak with him after that it was all one-word answers and half-hearted smiles.

You hoped he wasn't still upset about the new friends you'd made. The other three of your closest friends had gotten over that once you'd been acting buddy buddy with them for a whole week. Jean and Eren were the ones who needed that extra convincing.

Armin never spoke about Pieck and the other Marleyans. You always thought he'd be above a stupid rivalry like that but maybe you'd been proven wrong.

He was too smart to be upset about somebody being Marleyan. You knew that. He always made an effort to be kind to everyone. You loved that about him. So why did he suddenly seem so gloomy?

You tried to cheer him up on numerous occasions but he was never himself. You talked to Jean about it, also telling him about Connie and Sasha's jealousy theory.

He agreed that it was plausible but unlikely for Armin. Once again, he brought his never-ending theory of this crush he thought Armin had on you.

Needless to say, the trip to Jean's basement that day wasn't much help. It just took you back to square one.

It did, however, get you thinking some more. Could it be possible Armin really did like you? The thought itself made your cheeks heat up.

You'd known him for so long. You knew his parents, his interests, his life, his habits, everything about him. How could he have kept that hidden from you?

You couldn't say that you'd never thought about him that way before. There were plenty of times where you wondered what it would be like to hold his hand, go on dates, to kiss him.

But you were sure that didn't mean anything. Everyone's thought things like that about friends, right? Right?

Then again, you never thought that way about Eren, Mikasa, or Jean.

You wouldn't dare tell anybody you've pictured yourself with Armin more than once. Not even Jean. With his relentless teasing and theorizing, you'd never hear the end of it.

Despite your occasional wandering thoughts, there was no way you liked Armin and it seemed impossible that he liked you. Besides, you felt something with Pieck.

Over the period that passed between your last sort of real talk with Armin and present day, you and her talked nearly every day. You were beginning to see something in her you missed entirely when you first met.

Pieck was starting to show you a side that was less bold and more sweet. At first, she wasn't hesitant at all when she wanted any sort of affection from you.

Now, she got shy when reaching for your hand, looking downward with a blush creeping up her neck. She was shorter than you by a few inches, something that you hadn't noticed until she pointed it out with a small smile.

On some days after school, you'd hitch a ride with Bertholdt even if you didn't need one, just to see her. Some days she wasn't even there and you took the chance to get to know her friends a little better.

There were even some days where you sat at Reiner's table during lunch. There was some unresolved awkwardness at your own table, Eren making it worse when he blurted something weird to diffuse the tension.

You and Pieck became closer as each day passed. It was easy to figure out that she liked you, that much was apparent from the start, but now more than ever.

You weren't entirely sure if you reciprocated her feelings. Yes, you'd always found her gorgeous and talented, and you thrived off of her attention, but there was always that lingering feeling of something missing.

As much as you tried to repress the feeling, it found a way back into your mind. You couldn't shake it, the sense that something was wrong.

Mikasa told you it was because you were such a worrywart. Eren agreed without any context when he walked into Mikasa's room.

Last night, you were at the Jaegers' place for a Saturday night dinner yours and their parents put together.

It was after dinner, which was delicious, courtesy to Mrs. Jaeger. You and Mikasa went up to her room while Eren stayed downstairs and hung out with your little brother.

All Eren heard before he walked in was Mikasa calling you a worrywart.

"Whatever your problem may be, Y/n, it could be easily solved if you stopped worrying about it so damn much. Where's my charger, Mikasa?" he said casually as if he hadn't interrupted your conversation while opening a bunch of drawers.

"Nowhere in here. Stop going through my things," Mikasa replied coldly.

Eren closed the drawer he was scouring through. "Why, are you scared I'll find your diary?" he teased.

"It's a journal! Get out," Mikasa ushered him out of the room.

Once he left, she said, "He's right. Even with zero context, he knows you well."

You only smiled back. The conversation moved onto her persistence of you starting volleyball. You weren't feeling much better about your previous doubts but Mikasa ad Eren's logic checked out at least a little bit.

When Pieck called you later that night, inviting you to Galliard's the next day with her friends, you figured the two might be right. You should push your worries to the side and have a fun time with her.

Pushing open the door to the family-owned shop, you spotted Pieck waving you over to a table not too far from the front counter.

You sat in the chair next to hers, Annie on the other side of you. Reiner, Bertholdt, and Marcel were at the table too.

Setting your coat down on the back of your chair (it hadn't stopped snowing since Friday), you greeted everyone at the table. Pieck got up and said she was off to tell Porco what you wanted.

"So what are we all doing here?" you asked.

"Porco works longer hours on Sundays so we like showing up to make fun of him," Marcel responded.

"Yeah and it's real funny," Porco said sarcastically as he set down everybody else's order. "I'll get you yours in a second," he assured, patting your shoulder before heading behind the counter.

Pieck was standing near the said counter, talking to Colt as Porco passed them. Reiner took her absence from the table as an opportunity to ask something you had done a lot of thinking about, yet never found the answer to.

"So what's going on with you and Pieck?"

"Sorry, what?"

"You know, like relationship-wise. She won't tell us anything despite talking about you all the time," Bertholdt clarified.

Your blush deepened. Apparently, you hadn't come to the full realization that Pieck's friends thought the two of you were dating.

"Oh, I- I don't know," you answered bashfully.

Annie rolled her eyes and the two boys across from her. "You two gossip more than Hitch does."

"It's not gossip. It's an important conversation with our friend, Y/n," Reiner combatted.

Annie dismissed him, "Don't listen to those two, they have no idea what business is theirs and what isn't."

You gave the four of them a small smile as Pieck returned to the table with your ice cream and engaged herself back into the conversation.

Porco got off his shift twenty minutes later and joined the five of you with his own ice cream. Even after you all had cleared your cups, you stayed and talked for a while. Colt even came by to chat for a little before Marcel claimed it was time to close up.

You drove yourself home with a smile on your face after you bid farewell to each of your newfound friends.

You enjoyed hanging out with them almost as much as you enjoyed being around Pieck. If you and her were to end up as something more than friends, you didn't think you would mind that at all.

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[neptunetheplanet7]

chapter 7: bluffing

armin arlert x f!reader

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As November came to a close, so did any trace of warmth in Paradis. Although it hadn't snowed yet, it would soon. No snow on the ground yet the small town of Paradis was already starting to suffer from the effects of winter on only the first of December.

You pulled your puffy jacket closer to your body and swiped your scarf back over your shoulder. You hated winter, for the most part. The only thing you enjoyed about it was seeing the snow outside your window where you didn't have to make contact with it.

Your friend, Mikasa, however, loved winter. She loved the cold. Probably because it gave her an excuse to wear the red scarf Eren gave to her when the Jaegers adopted her.

Speaking of Mikasa, you hadn't seen her since algebra the day before. Jean informed you that while you were on your "date", as he called it, he and Armin went over to the Jaegers to help her feel better. Apparently, she left early on Monday because she was sick. You didn't even realize she was absent from lunch as you were in the middle of getting angry at Eren.

The walk from your car to the school was not your favorite part of the day. The student parking lot was two times farther away from the building than the teachers' lot. It got on your nerves, especially during the winter.

"Good morning, star shine!" You heard Jean's loud voice behind you and felt his strong arm wrap around your shoulders. You stumbled forward upon impact.

"The earth says 'Hello'!" Eren walked backward in front of the two of you, displaying jazz hands and an over-exaggerated grin. He turned around and fell into step with you and Jean.

"What a greeting," you remarked. You stared and gestured at Eren's burnt-looking shoes for a few seconds before remembering to use your words. "What the hell is up with your shoelaces?"

"I stepped in a fire," Eren said nonchalantly. You nodded along until it registered what he said to you.

Jean noticed your confusion and decided to provide context. "While Armin and I were paying the Jaegers a visit last night and you were on your date, Eren stepped in the fire we had going like an idiot. These are the only shoes he owns so he's still wearing them."

"Eren, you ever tried walking where there isn't something that can severely burn you?"

"Haha. So funny, Y/n." He stuck his tongue out at you. "To be honest, as much as I hate him, Jean was the only fun person there. You weren't there so I couldn't bully you. Armin was acting all pouty and Mikasa was sick so she was no good. It didn't help that she turned all sour once she found out where you were."

You were hoping Mikasa wasn't upset with you. She wasn't an idiot like Eren or prideful like Jean. She was cold and extremely intimidating when she wanted to be, but not the type to cause a ruckus over "fraternizing with the enemy". At least not to your face.

"Yeah, man, it wasn't that fun without you," Jean replied. "I go over to have a fun night with my friends and possibly help one recover from a sickness, and before I know it I'm stuck watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It wasn't even the good one. It was the scary one with Johnny Depp."

Eren shrugged. "They're both scary. I still can't believe her favorite movie is the scarier one."

"I can't believe Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is anybody's favorite movie," you said, pulling the door open and holding it for Jean, who ducked under your arm and tried to close it on Eren.

Eren grabbed the door just in time to swing inside and flip off Jean. They playfully shoved each other back and forth until Jean stepped into his English classroom. You and Eren continued the walk to history.

Armin was already there when you arrived, his head on the desk staring out the window. You glanced at Eren with a questioning look, he just shrugged and sat down next to you.

Even when class started, Armin continued to keep his head down, facing away from you. You recalled Jean saying he was acting "pouty" the night before.

You couldn't help but feel curious. You took out your phone, stealthily, glancing up at Professor Smith to make sure he wasn't looking. Pulling up the text conversation with Armin, you typed up a simple, "are you okay? meet me in the library for lunch if you want to talk".

You watched him check his phone and write a quick response, "Okay", and put it back in his pocket. He went back to staring out the cloudy window. You sighed and looked back at your teacher.

Your classes before lunch passed horrendously slow. You wanted to get to the library as quickly as you could to figure out what was going on with your friend. There was a bad feeling present in your stomach when you realized it could have something to do with your newest companion, but you didn't want to believe that.

The bell rung, releasing you from your photography class. You gathered your stuff together, dropped a stack of photos on the teacher's desk, and hurried out of the classroom.

"Woah, slow down, Y/n!" Mr. Berner called after you.

"Sorry, Mr. Berner! I've got somewhere to be. I'll see you tomorrow!"

Mr. Berner shook his head and looked down at the pictures on his desk.

You rushed down the hall and up the stairs to the library, ignoring Eren and Jean when you passed them.

Entering the spacious library, your eyes darted between tables until they settled on Armin sitting at one towards the back. He met your eyes as you began to walk over.

"Jean told me you seemed upset last night. Is everything okay?" you asked once you sat down across from him.

"Everything is fine," they replied simply.

You furrowed your brows. "I call your bluff."

Armin sighed. "I've just been in a bad mood recently."

"Any particular reason why?" The question was met with silence. You pursed your lips and took his hand, causing heat to rise on his neck. "You can be honest with me. You know you can tell me anything."

They sighed again, heavier this time. He lifted his head and met your eyes, smiling weakly. "Trust me, nothing's really wrong. I know I can't hide anything from you even if I tried. Don't worry about me."

You bit your lip nervously. "If you say so. We haven't spoken much in the past few days. I would've gone to the Jaegers' place last night but I was with-"

"Pieck," Armin finished with a tight smile. He pulled his hand back and stood up from the table, pushing his chair backward.

You gave him a quick smile as he left the library, not feeling reassured in the least. He was right, he couldn't hide anything from you. He was doing a good job at hiding why he wouldn't tell you, one of his best friends to who he tells everything to, what was going on under the surface.

Two figures took the seats across from you when Armin was fully out of sight.

"Sounds like you're having relationship problems," Connie said, snatching a french fry from Sasha's box.

You raised an eyebrow, eyeing the fries. "I don't think you're supposed to bring food in here."

"I don't remember that being a rule," Sasha replied, shamelessly chowing down.

"You know, Sasha's boyfriend is Marleyan. He goes to the same school as Pieck," Connie brought up.

"What does that have to do with anything?" you asked, confused as to why they started talking to you in the first place. You knew them through Jean but never really took much time to get to know them.

"This is a classic dish of internalized jealousy with a garnish of the fear of outsiders," Sasha added onto Connie's statement, dramatizing it immensely.

"Not sure what you mean," you said blankly.

"Do we have to piece it together for you?" Connie exclaimed. "Armin is jealous because you've been hanging out with Pieck. He's afraid of losing you to the outsider." He pretended to faint as he told his story.

"That's not even a little bit true. How do you even know I've been hanging out with Pieck?"

"Sasha follows her on Instagram," he stated simply, the girl next to him nodding along. "Everyone's talking about it."

"Well, I haven't heard anything. There's nothing to talk about. Nothing's going on. And Armin is not jealous. There's certainly nothing to be jealous of." You started to grab your things, wanting to leave the conversation very badly.

"You say that now!" Connie yelled as you hurriedly exited the library. The librarian shushed him loudly and snatched Sasha's fries away.

You knew the two of them meant well, but meddling in other people's business was something they never knew the limits of. Seriously, you'd only talked to them a few times and they seemed to think you were very dear friends.

If Armin really was jealous like they said, you found that very hard to understand. He was never the type of person to be upset if you talked to other people. But, then again, he was skeptical of Pieck from the start.

You wished he would just talk to you instead of you having to hear about his feelings from people you barely spoke to. Concerns flooded your mind but the thought of his jealousy being a reality was not one of them.

___

When you entered the convenience store, you let out a sigh of relief. The warmth of the heater hit you like a nice blanket.

You needed snacks and drinks for the English essay you had to do when you got home. You also needed a way to relax from a day filled with so much thinking it gave you a headache.

Coasting through the aisles heading towards your favorite snacks, you caught sight of a familiar girl with short black hair and stone-cold eyes staring down at the phone in her hand.

She looked up just in time to see you. "Y/n," she said, catching your full attention. She strode towards you and put her phone up close to your face.

The picture of you and Pieck was staring at you. Mikasa pulled her phone away and stuck it in her pocket. "If what I think is happening, is happening, it better not be." Her eyes were narrow and her demeanor icy.

"What would be happening?" you asked cautiously.

Her red lips formed a pout. "You went to her for volleyball advice instead of me. I'm not that scary on the court, you could've asked me to teach you."

"Sorry, what?"

"Y/n, don't play clueless. I've seen you eyeing the volleyballs during PE before. I was waiting for you to come to me for help. No offense to how she plays, but my technique is much more advanced. I'm hurt you'd go to her before me."

"Mikasa, I wasn't asking her for volleyball advice," you assured.

She frowned. "Then what were you doing?"

"Just hanging out. I know she's your rival and everything, but she's cool off the court. I hope you're not mad." you scratched the back of your neck, still a bit nervous.

"Rival? I'm not like Jean and Eren when it comes to sports. I don't have rivals, I just don't like how she plays. And why would I be mad? Y/n, I don't care who you hang out with, regardless of how they play."

You were surprised by how chill she was, but then again, this was Mikasa. She mainly stayed unbothered by stuff others might consider drama.

"That's great to hear. Eren wasn't too pleased about it. He said you'd be upset."

She scowled. "Don't listen to Eren. He doesn't know me as well as he thinks."

"So, what are you doing out? I thought you were sick."

"I am. That's not stopping me from buying food though." She smiled when you laughed. Lord knows you were happy that she wasn't upset with you. The very thought of Mikasa mad made you shiver.

The two of you bought your own snacks and parted ways to go to your separate homes. You were so not ready for that essay.

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[neptunetheplanet7]

chapter 6: the popular topic

armin arlert x f!reader

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If Eren didn't stop talking, Armin thought he was going to go insane. His angry blabbering about his most recent bad grade hadn't ceased since Professor Smith declared the last ten minutes of class free time.

Armin tried his best to tune out the noise by giving a quick eye roll and leaving you and Mikasa to deal with Eren's never-ending antics while he stared out the sunlight-dusted window.

Their moment of peace was quickly interrupted when Eren loudly changed the subject to you. "Enough about me. I meant to ask, what's got you so cheery this early in the morning? No comment on how annoying I am? Why aren't you telling me to shut up? Who are you? What have you done with Y/n?"

"Okay, shut up," you shushed him with a big grin.

He sent back an identical one. "There she is."

Mikasa's silver eyes trailed over you like a scanner. "For once I'm thinking the same thing as Eren. Did something happen to you?"

There was a moment of hesitation where you thought about holding back from telling them about the black-haired girl you met the week before. Jean had gotten over his initial distaste (mostly) and you hadn't spoken to Armin about Marleyans since the day you studied together.

Alas, you remembered that Mikasa had a sports rivalry of her own. She was never one to outwardly trash talk an opponent, preferring to observe the other team's plays rather than comment on them. Assuming Jean wasn't exaggerating, the intimidating girl facing you was not a fan of Pieck.

Then there was Eren, who took certain things considerably more seriously than others. If you thought Jean was bad, Eren was so much worse. Seeing him play was downright terrifying. Baseball was his main release of anger, which was apparent when he struck the ball with his neon-colored bat.

Jean disliked the Galliards but Eren hated them most of all. Marcel could've been a cool guy in Eren's book if he wasn't so quick to catch whatever Eren hit.

He hated Porco more. Porco was the star of the team and was always coming up with comebacks equally as lame as Eren's. He thought he had a dumb name and a bad attitude. He would never admit how good he knew Porco was.

What infuriated him the most was Zeke. Zeke used to play for Marley before going on to the big leagues with a side hustle of substitute teaching (Eren was beyond sure he only did the teaching to mess with him). He would show up to Eren's games but only when Shiganshina was playing Marley. Eren could never tell if Zeke came to watch him or his old team and that pissed him off more than anything.

After some serious recollection, you concluded that it was probably a bad idea to mention the fact that Pieck was Marleyan. You proceeded to tell Eren and Mikasa about the girl you'd recently met, your embarrassing encounter from the day before, and the hangout scheduled for after school all while conveniently leaving out her identity.

Although it looked like he wasn't, Armin had been listening to the whole conversation. A sickening feeling settled in their stomach when they pieced together who you were talking about.

He couldn't figure out why, but he didn't like hearing about Pieck. He didn't like it at all.

The day was passing quickly due to your growing excitement about the plans you had for later. By the time lunch rolled around, however, it was hard to ignore the continuous murmurs floating around you when you walked through the halls.

The lunch table was quiet as you sat down. Each of the three boys was too engrossed in their own activities to acknowledge your presence.

Jean was preoccupied with studying Marco from across the cafeteria, Eren was really into his cereal, and Armin was quietly reading with earbuds in.

You were about to snap Jean out of his trance so you'd at least have somebody to talk to but a certain tall brunette seemed to do it for you.

"Y/n! Why did I have to hear from Hitch that you and Pieck are going out?" Bertholdt asked as he approached the table from behind you.

Well, there goes the secrecy of it. By Armin's wide eyes, you could tell he had paused his music in an attempt to subtly eavesdrop on the conversation.

Yours and Jean's eyes carefully shifted over to Eren, whose cereal milk was dripping from his spoon in the short silence that followed Bertholdt's question. He sat completely still, waiting for you to answer what the boy asked.

You shrank in your seat. "We aren't going out. We're seeing each other after school, but it's not like that," you emphasized.

Bertholdt frowned. "Hitch can exaggerate her rumors but even Pieck said it herself."

"I guess she's very literal then," you clarified, looking away from Eren's confused stare and down at the table.

Bertholdt shrugged, not sensing the awkwardness around the table. "I guess they are. She's paying for the ride, by the way. Porco usually gets screwed into paying for her so I'd say you're a pretty big deal."

You winced. Of course, he had to mention Porco. "You make your friends pay too?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "Of course. It would be quite unfair if they didn't." With that, he walked back to the table he shared with Reiner, Annie, and Hitch. You doubted Hitch even wanted to be there, judging by the way she ignored Reiner every time he tried to speak to her.

Once he was out of earshot, Jean piped up to air out the awkward silence. "That's gay, Mark."

You almost laughed at what he called diffusing the tension. "Who the fuck is Mark?"

"I don't even know."

"So I take it you've been hanging around Marleyans recently?" Eren finally found his words as he seemed to remember his cereal existed.

Armin's eyes remained wide as he tried to look like he was focused on his book when he was actually focused on whatever drama would come out of this interaction. You didn't miss the way they glanced over at you from the side of their glasses.

"Would that be a problem?" You were testing the waters.

His eyebrows rose, having expected you to dodge the question. "No, no. I just wouldn't if I were you."

Armin and Jean shared an uncomfortable look when your eyes narrowed. "Are you sure it's not an issue?"

Eren, the idiot, never proceeded with caution even when it was the smart choice. "You shouldn't be talking to them. They're bad news. I wouldn't even talk to the three transfers. Everyone wants a piece of Paradis these days, even Marleyans."

Armin's eyes focused harder on the book in front of him as he chewed on his nails. Jean gave Eren a side-eye that said, "You fucked up".

You scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean? And who are you to tell me who I should and shouldn't be talking to?"

Eren didn't seem to realize he'd crossed a line as he continued to munch on his cereal. "I'm just warning you, Y/n. Don't be naïve. Mikasa won't be happy when she finds out Pieck is the girl you were talking about earlier."

"Well, I think she'd react a little better than you."

"I'm not even doing anything wrong, why do you look so mad at me?" he asked through another mouthful of cereal.

"Why are you stupid?" Jean looked bewildered at Eren's continuous dumbassery.

"What? Seriously, Y/n, I'm trying to look out for you! Don't be angry with me."

You pursed your lips. This was typical Eren behavior. You found it hard to stay mad at him since he often had no idea what he'd done wrong himself. The poor boy was terrible at reading social cues.

You took a deep breath. "I'm not angry with you. I'd just appreciate it if you kept all sports-related people issues out of my life."

"Well, we wouldn't have those people issues if they didn't suck balls."

Both Jean and Armin looked up this time, staring at Eren with such incredulity. You ignored his comment and the brimming tension fell away.

___

Pieck handed Bertholdt her five dollars as you both exited the minivan.

"Have fun, you two," Bertholdt called teasingly after you. You gave the van a nonserious glare as it vanished down the road.

Pieck wasted no time in taking hold of your hand and rushing over to the ice cream place further down the street.

"Galliard's? As in Porco and Marcel Galliard?" you asked quizzically when you both stopped at the storefront.

Pieck dropped your hand and let her eyes wander over the white lettering. "Yeah, their parents own this place. Porco's always going on about how he's going to be the one they pass it down to, even though Marcel is the older one."

"So I guess you'd be the expert, then. What flavor would you recommend?" You both entered through the double doors and got in line behind one other person.

Pieck put a finger on her chin and pretended to think. "Hmm. If I had to choose, I'd go with plain chocolate."

"Really? No extra unnecessary toppings?"

"Not for me." She smiled. "I prefer being able to actually taste the ice cream itself."

"Can't argue there," you chuckled softly. The person in front of you two finished ordering, prompting Pieck to order for both of you.

She greeted the worker, a slightly younger-looking blond boy with a name tag that read 'Colt'.

"Keeping it classy again, Pieck? Don't you think you should order something a little less basic for a date?" the boy teased her, signaling to you that they already knew each other.

Pieck laughed lightly. "For your information, Colt, she has similar ice cream views as I do." She hadn't even tried to decline the fact that you were on a date, which made you flush.

"Don't fall for their tricks, Pieck's date." Colt winked quickly and took the money from Pieck's hand.

She guided you to a table toward the back of the room, sitting down across from you. "You didn't have to pay for me. I brought my own money."

"I asked you out, didn't I? It wouldn't make much sense for you to pay. Don't sweat it." She smiled again, making butterflies arise in your stomach.

"So, how is it in sunny side Paradis?"

You rolled your eyes at the nickname. "Pretty regular. I hear you play volleyball? How's that going?"

Pieck's pale eyes lit up. "The season ended a few weeks ago but it went really well for us. Our only real competition was the Titans. Annie was our best player before she transferred."

"Yeah, I bet. She's killer.

"She is," Pieck agreed. "Do you play any sports?"

You shook your head. "I'm incredibly uncoordinated, so that's a no." She laughed at that. "Jean and I are in art and photography. The clubs."

"That's neat. I've never been all that good with a camera but I'm alright with a paintbrush. I didn't take Jean for an artist."

You laughed lightly. "Yeah, he doesn't seem like the type. He's really talented though. I told him he should pursue something in the arts. He would rather do law."

"What do you want to do?"

The question caught you by surprise. "I'm not really sure. I might do something with art. I might not."

"I'm kind of on the fence about that stuff too." Her dark hair cascaded down her shoulders, partially hiding her face as she traced the tabletop with her fingertip. "Is Jean a good friend of yours?"

"The best. Any one of those guys your best friend?"

She shrugged. "Annie and I were good friends before she transferred. I only have the Galliards now. I'd say Porco's my best friend out of the two. He's a lot less tough than he looks."

Porco. You had faith that he wasn't like Eren and Jean's perception of him. He's proved you wrong a couple of times. Teasing others seemed to just be in his nature.

"Yeah, I get that. It sort of reminds me of Eren. People think he's mean because he always looks a little angry. Deep down, he's just a big softie."

She laughed again. "Porco told me to be careful about you. Because you're from Paradis." She rolled her eyes. "I told him that was a stupid thing to throw caution at. I just like hanging around you."

"Eren said the same thing. Who cares what they think, though? For what it's worth, I like hanging around you too." You both smiled, continuing to enjoy your ice cream.

You two talked until sunset (and until Colt kicked you out). Pieck wasn't such an enigma after a while. You learned she lived with her parents on the north side of Marley. She was once a mathlete. Her favorite color was sage green and her favorite place in the world was anywhere she hadn't been yet.

She learned about you too. Your home life, your mother who stays at home, your father who's dedicated to his law firm, your little brother who's a genius.

The two of you figured out a lot about one another when it was time to go home. You felt something for her, you knew it. There was a lingering heat to your cheeks as you stared up at your ceiling fan, thinking about her.

She was beautiful, she was kind. She was brilliant and observant. She was easygoing and you felt like you could talk to her forever.

As you laid there, glancing at the pictures she posted to her Instagram every so often, the newest stack of the two of you most prominent, you couldn't help but feel like something was missing or something was wrong.

She wanted to see you again, and you wanted the same. She was lovely, what could be wrong? You decided to sleep on it, letting the feeling go and passing it off as nerves for something so new to you.

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[neptunetheplanet7]

chapter 5: infiltrating marley, pt2

armin arlert x f!reader

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"So are you gonna call her or what?" Jean asked eagerly from the large red bean bag he was sprawled upon.

"I don't know! She gave me her number on Wednesday and it's Sunday. She must think i've forgotten about her," you complained, throwing yourself back down onto the black bean bag beneath you.

You and Jean were hanging out in his unfinished basement like you normally would on a boring weekend such as this one.

His house became sort of a go to hangout spot for the both of you because his mom was usually at work while your whole family was home.

She worked as a nurse at ParaCare, the same hospital Eren's dad worked at, except nurses made much less than the doctors in Paradis. Especially well known doctors like Mr. Jaeger. It was the reason Jean resented Eren so much when they first met. That started early in freshman year and wore off over time but it made it an awkward year for everybody.

Jean lived in a neighborhood that was a lot less nice than where Eren and Mikasa lived. It always bugged him how nonchalant Eren acted about his wealth, and if he was being honest, it still occasionally struck a nerve.

You were probably the only person he had ever invited over due to his insecurities about his situation. You've told him countless times that it's nothing to be ashamed of but he waved you off every time, dismissing the idea that something so silly made him upset.

If there was one thing Jean hated, it was looking vulnerable in front of others.

Despite having this flaw, your best friend was one of the most determined people you'd ever known. He had his heart set on practicing law in the future so he could provide more for his mother. You were just glad he was enjoying the subject.

His mother was the nicest woman in the world. You wished you were exaggerating. She was ecstatic when she found out Jean had made a friend so early at a new school where everyone knew each other.

The first time he invited you over during the winter break that year, she gushed about how much he'd said about you, much to Jean's embarrassment.

Through and through, you knew how lucky she was to have Jean as a son.

You began fiddling with some paintbrushes in a jar that sat on the ledge under the coffee table next to many other containers of art supplies.

"I knew you'd come to me with something like this eventually," Jean said, flashing you a grin and adjusting his flannel against his t-shirt.

Your eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

He rolled his eyes and turned on the bean bag so he fully faced you. "You know, all that crush business. You're so adamant on it not happening to you, but it's happening in front of your face. I think you like this girl, whoever she may be."

You hadn't told Jean who Pieck was just yet. All you mentioned was that a pretty girl gave you her number and that was it. You were incredibly bad at making new friends on your own. After all, you met Jean because you were assigned to show him around on his first day, even though you didn't know how to navigate the high school any more than he did.

The truth was, you had no idea what Pieck thought of you or why she showed such an interest in you but, of course, here Jean was trying to make something of your practically nonexistent love live.

You laughed dryly. "You say that about everyone. Earlier this week you were saying that about Armin too."

He shook his head. "That's different. That's Armin. He'll always be at the back of your mind. Call this girl right now, no balls."

You were a little startled by what Jean said about Armin. At the time, you had no idea what he meant by it. You passed it off as a careless comment considering what followed. "Like, right now?"

Jean tossed a hakki sack he found on the floor in the air and caught it again. "Yes, right now, Y/n."

You took his persistence as a challenge. "Okay, I will."

You dialed Pieck's number and watched it ring. "Hello?" said a soft voice from the phone.

"Hi, is this Pieck?"

Jean, at that point, was pretending not to listen but his ears perked up at the name that slipped past your lips.

"It is."

"This is Y/n, the friend of Bertholdt's." That was partially a lie. You weren't really friends with him, you just knew him.

"Y/n! I'm so glad you called." You could practically hear her typical smile, but you imagined it was bigger than the ones you'd seen before. "I was worried you wouldn't."

You shook your head with a stupid grin. "Yeah, well I don't like to leave people hanging."

She laughed. "That's good to know. You could prove it by going out with me tomorrow, if your free." Her voice was as smooth as her lines.

You couldn't lie, her forwardness shocked you. "Going out? Do you mean like a date?" Jean stopped acting like he wasn't listening and sat straight up.

She laughed again. "It doesn't have to be a date, of course. I just want the chance to get to know you a little better. I can get us a ride with Bert, if that's alright, and we can get ice cream right after school."

"Isn't it too cold out for ice cream?"

"It's never too cold for ice cream. How does that sound, though?"

"It sounds good," you admitted.

"Great, I'll see you then." She hung up.

Jean's face was skeptical when you looked over at him. "You didn't mention she was Marleyan," he whispered the word like a curse.

You rolled your eyes. "I didn't mention anything," you mimicked. "And why are you whispering? We're alone."

He threw a nearby pillow at you. "You never know who's listening. You know who she's friends with, right?"

You caught it and threw it onto the couch behind you. "I'm aware. Your little sports rivalry has to end somewhere. She doesn't even play against you."

His mouth gaped open. "She's on the volleyball team! Mikasa hates her plays, she says they're lazy and dirty."

"Have you seen them?"

"No."

"Then who are you to judge?"

Jean frowned at that, knowing you trapped him. "I'm telling you, Marleyans are bad news. You don't know what it's like on the field with the Galliards."

"You're right about that, but I do know what it's like having a regular conversation with them. Did you know Marcel is on student council? You'd really like him," you attempted to change Jean's mind.

He scoffed. "I always knew he was far too righteous even for warrior scum."

"Jean, you sound like you've got some kind of war with them. You only know what they're like on the field. Did you ever stop to think that their lives probably aren't much different than our own?"

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "Stop making it seem like we're forsworn enemies."

"You did that all on your own."

He leaned back onto his bean bag and looked over at you sitting against the foot of the couch. "I think we need to do some investigating."

"Jean, you're crazy."

"Just trust me."

___

You shouldn't have trusted him. Jean sat across from you in the plush seat of a Marleyan diner rightfully named "In the Zone" after where it sat in the space between a kids' play place and a cannabis dispensary.

Downtown Marley had a street lined with different shops and restaurants, though instead of calling it 'downtown', the residents called it 'Liberio' for whatever reason. It's a Marleyan thing, Jean had said.

You looked at the boy in front of you, slightly embarrassed to be seen in public with him, even in a town almost completely foreign to yourself.

He was clad in some stupid disguise he insisted on wearing, fearing someone would recognize him for being a Paradis Titan, but he wasn't the celebrity he thought himself to be.

He pulled down his sunglasses carefully and glanced around the room. He looked incredibly out of place, acting as paranoid as he was in an establishment where nobody looked anything but content.

"Jean, would you stop fiddling with your crap and figure out what you're gonna order." You folded your arms and looked over him with slight distaste staining your face.

"I don't need to worry about that. We're completely unnoticeable, even by the staff."

You looked around the diner and although you nobody was looking your way, they could definitely tell you were there. Jean, despite wanting to remain "undercover", picked a table that sat right in the middle of the line of booths.

Suddenly, he had an idea that seemed criminal but he needed a way to test the waters. It was time to break his supposed secrecy. "Smack," he said calmly.

"Excuse me?"

"Smack," he repeated.

"No, not here," you said, suddenly feeling the tension Jean previously claimed was flowing in and out of the restaurant.

"Smack," he said for a third time.

Alas, you knew the rules of the game. You also knew there were no real punishments for breaking them besides being called a pussy, but you were never one to back out of something so easily.

Reluctantly, you wound your hand back, dreading the startling sound it would make when it collided with the table. Before it could, however, it hit something behind your instead.

Jean quickly adjusted his sunglasses and lowered his hat over his eyes even more. You whipped your head around to see what you hit, horrified when you realized who it was.

"Oh my god, Pieck! I'm so sorry," you exclaimed, breaking the quiet atmosphere in the building.

She only smiled, a reaction that would frequently catch you off guard. "Y/n, this is a surprise. I usually sit in the back so I didn't see you come in. I didn't know you liked this place too."

"I don't, Jean does," you blurted. Jean made several frantic hand motions, silently telling you to shut up, but waved awkwardly at Pieck when she looked to him.

"Jean," she repeated his name, casting her dark eyes on him. They showed the same skepticism you saw earlier in him. "Oh, well. That's a shame. I was hoping I could look out for you whenever I came in." She winked and nudged your shoulder, a grin taking over her soft features. "Only teasing," she added with a laugh when she saw your wide eyes.

She walked through the door to the diner's back seating and your head slumped onto the table in embarrassment.

Jean poked your arm. "You still need to hit the table. Never forget the sacred game of smack."

You lifted only your right hand from the table and brought it down on the surface in wordless defeat.

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[neptunetheplanet7]

chapter 4: infiltrating marley, pt1

armin arlert x f!reader

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"All right again," you said to Armin as you tucked the set of flashcards into a side pocket on your backpack. "I think you're gonna get an A."

Armin fiddled with his pencil and raised his warm eyes to yours with a smile. There were a few others in the mostly empty history classroom since class wouldn't start for a little bit.

You and Armin were doing a quick review of the material once more to get an extra refresher right before the test.

Professor Smith's tests were always excruciatingly time-consuming, often taking the entire period to complete. You'd only been a sophomore at Shiganshina high for a little under three months, yet you were too familiar with his exams.

The door opened and you lifted your head to see who was coming in. An agitated Mikasa followed by Eren, who resembled a sad puppy, entered the classroom and took their respective seats.

You gave Mikasa a questioning look and jutted a thumb towards Eren, who'd taken to slumping over his desk.

She sighed and rubbed her fingers against her temples, signaling that the pouting boy was giving her a headache. "He fell asleep while we were studying last night and now he's gonna flunk. Somehow it's my fault."

"You should've woken me up, Mikasa! You're the worst fake sister ever." Eren shook a fist at the ceiling and buried his head in the sleeve of his hoodie.

"You would've been mad at me regardless!" Mikasa reasoned and as usual, she was right.

"Whatever," he mumbled.

By then, nearly every seat in the class had been filled and Professor Smith was preparing to pass out the tests.

The class quieted as he looked over each student with an icy stare. His eyes gave away his amusement like he knew how many grades were about to be ruined.

You heard Armin gulp beside you. He was always so nervous before exams, though he really shouldn't have been. He was one of the most academically brilliant kids in the school who almost always ended up acing it in the end.

You yourself were also doing quite well academically. Although not on Armin's level, you came in close with Mikasa, except she was much more organized.

A packet sat innocently on each student's desk when you observed the classroom. Your professor sat at his desk by the windows, a smug look gracing his face.

There was a nail-biting anxiety that filled the room with a tension you weren't fond of. There seemed to be only two kids who were either clueless or careless about the situation.

Though lovable, Sasha and Connie had never been known as the brightest at Shiganshina. They sat all the way in the back by the cabinets, poking each other instead of filling out the bubbles on the papers in front of them.

You glanced at Eren, the friend you were most concerned about at the moment. The eraser end of his pencil was in his mouth, teeth clamping on it every now and then. His dark eyebrows were furrowed against his tanned skin and his glare at his blank paper was so intense you had to look away.

You took a deep breath and finally looked down at the daunting material in front of you, dreading what would follow.

___

So you may have overreacted just a tad. The test ended up being fairly easy, possibly because you studied so hard.

Eren, as predicted, did not do so great. You shuddered when you remembered the cold stare Mikasa had given him when she passed her test into the tray by the professor's desk.

You and Armin breezed through it, leaving Eren by himself, rushing to finish. You were anxious to see your grade but knowing the professor, it would most likely be another month before you knew for sure how you did.

You stood at your locker during the junction between biology and math, reaching for one of the textbooks inside.

Closing it, you jumped, not expecting to see the tall brunette behind the door. "Bertholdt! I didn't see you there. You scared me."

He smiled awkwardly. "Sorry. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," you said as the two of you began walking to class.

"Do you wanna ride with us again after school? Pieck seemed to really like you and I saw you get off the bus this morning, not that I was watching for you, you know what I mean," he offered nervously.

You thought it over. There was no reason not to accept. Armin's concerns from the previous night briefly crossed your mind but one fact remained: neither of you knew the Marleyans.

Jean was a baseball player and a vicious one at that. Any bad thing he said about his opponents was all sports talk. Being a friend of his for so long, you knew how to differentiate sports hate from real hate. Armin, however, seemed to not possess this skill yet.

There was no harm done in getting to know new people. "Yeah, that sounds good. I'll be there."

After school had finally come to an end, you stood on the sidewalk outside the entrance, shifting your feet on the pavement and waiting for Bertholdt to pull his car around. You remembered his words from earlier and became increasingly nervous: Pieck seemed to really like you.

Bertholdt's car pulled up in front of you and you climbed in the back, sliding over to the seat behind his. Only Reiner was in the car, Annie having gone home with Hitch and the attendants of Marley high school waiting to be picked up.

The three of you made light conversation on the drive over, Reiner cracking a few surprisingly vulgar jokes along the way that made you wonder if you'd get to see more of that side of him in the future.

Once the three of you made it to the school, three students climbed in the back, two of which you recognized. Porco gave you an odd look and slid the seat forward so he could get into the way back.

A boy who looked almost identical to Porco besides his hair, which was brown and resembled a hedgehog, climbed into the back along with him.

This left Pieck, whose eyes lit up when she saw you in the car. She slid the seat back in its place and sat in it.

"What are you doing here?" Porco asked forwardly, causing the boy beside him to elbow his side. "Ow, Marcel! It's just a question."

"Don't be rude, Porco," the boy scolded and leaned forward to extend his hand towards you. "I'm Marcel. It's nice to meet you..."

"Y/n," you finished his sentence and firmly shook his hand.

"Y/n," he repeated and sat back again.

You turned to look at Pieck, who was wearing the same tired smile as the day before. She's really pretty.

You almost felt ashamed of thinking the way you did. You'd only met this girl yesterday! But with the way she kept stealing glances at you amid the light conversations between the six of you, you found yourself not caring so much.

Talking with these new people was easier than you anticipated. You already knew Reiner and Bertholdt, not very well but they were always fun to be around. Now you'd seen that they'd both proved you wrong in what you'd previously thought about them. Reiner was secretly a big dork disguising as a jock and Bertholdt was far from the nervously shy guy you thought you knew him as.

Marcel was a proud student council member who could have gotten along well with Jean if they looked past their differences on the field. Porco was similar to his brother in a lot of ways but they were also very different.

Porco could get aggressive and he didn't like being wrong but he was also funny as hell. He was another baseball player who was very serious about the sport despite his lazy demeanor, just like Eren. Marcel was a good person to balance him out, being just the right amount of reasonable and relatability.

And Pieck was, as far as you knew, just Pieck. She rarely gave anything away unlike her boisterous friends. She was brilliant, you could tell straight away from her occasional input on the conversations. She might even be able to match Armin. You doubted it, though. That boy was smarter than anyone you'd ever known, but maybe Pieck was destined to prove you wrong.

You never knew what her next move would be. That's why you were ever so surprised when she took your open phone and created a new contact for herself at the end of the car ride.

"Call me," was what she said, still adorning that slight smile, although it held a new mischievous tint.

You were left utterly bewildered in your driveway as you watched the car descend further down the road.

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[neptunetheplanet7]

chapter 3: the loud library

armin arlert x f!reader

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You never thought a library could be so loud. Everything had been going swimmingly ten minutes earlier. It was quiet, peaceful even, as you and Armin began to make good progress in your studies.

That was until Eren and Jean decided to crash the party.

You and Armin sat alone at a table near the entrance of the library. You quite liked being alone with him, even if all you were doing was studying. Finding time alone with your first friend had become increasingly harder as the years went on and more things came up.

You recited flashcards to the boy and he continued to get them all correct, like the genius he was. "I think you're gonna ace this, Min."

They blushed at the nickname you'd given him and looked at the table bashfully. "I don't know about acing. If there's anyone who's gonna ace it, it'll probably be you."

"Or Mikasa," you pointed out.

"But definitely not Eren." A voice that wasn't yours or Armin's came from behind you. Jean pulled out the chair next to yours and set his stuff on the carpet while sitting down.

"Hi, Jean. What are you doing here?" you asked, slightly annoyed that he interrupted your study session.

He let out an annoyed huff. "Well, I wasn't planning on coming here today. It's Tuesday, which means art club. You know that, obviously. I have Miss Nifa last period and the announcements in her room don't work, right? So, of course, they decide to announce art club is canceled during that period. And this was like, really embarrassing since I just stayed in her classroom for a good five minutes until she kindly kicked me out."

"Sounds like it sucks," you paused. "Wait, I literally have that class with you. I found out from Mr. Berner during photography earlier. Why didn't you question why I was leaving?"

Jean frowned. "I assumed you were coming back. I wasn't paying much attention at that moment, though. I was too busy remembering the history test tomorrow. You guys are so lucky you don't have Professor Smith twice a day."

You laughed. "You can say that again."

Armin touched his pencil to his lips. "That reminds me, how is your law elective going?"

Jean's eyes lit up in excitement. "It's actually going really well, despite the Professor. He's tough, but I'm learning a lot, and maybe one day- Ouch!"

His head flung forward as Eren's hand collided with the back of it. "What's up, guys?" he said calmly while taking a seat next to Armin, who gave him an unimpressed once over.

Jean gritted his teeth and rubbed his head. "What the hell was that, asshole?"

"Nothing at all." He shrugged and a devious grin spread across his face. "Smack," he said simply.

Jean dropped his features into a serious expression. "Not here, Eren. This is a library."

You and Armin shared an identical look of confusion and leaned closer to each other. "What the hell are they talking about?" you whispered.

"I have no clue," they whispered back. You both leaned against the backs of your chairs and stared at your two friends.

Eren crossed his arms and relaxed further into his chair. "Do it. You know the rules."

Jean's eyes flickered with warning, the tension at the table rising to an uncomfortable level. "We're in a library, dickhead."

Eren narrowed his eyes. "Do it."

Jean sighed in defeat and brought his hand down onto the wooden table as hard as he could, resulting in a lot of stares and a very pleased-looking Eren.

"What'd you do that for? Everyone's staring at us now," Armin asked frantically.

"It's this stupid game Eren and I made up in math earlier. We annoyed the shit out of Mikasa with it at lunch, you'd know if you were there."

"We were talking to Mr. Berner after class," Armin filled in.

"Whatever. So the rules of the game are: The participants take turns yelling 'Smack!' and the other person has to smack the nearest flat surface as hard as they can. Eren got to call smack just now because I was the last one to do it at lunch, so it was his turn. Now I can call it next time. Like I said, it's stupid."

Eren scoffed. "It's not a stupid game, horseface. It's very serious."

Jean whipped his head around to face Eren with a glare. "The fuck did you just call me?"

"Nothing, nothing," the brunette replied nonchalantly.

"You looking for a fight, pal?"

You nudged Armin's hand, sensing the escalating fight and the stares from other students. "Do you wanna get out here before this gets out of hand?"

They nodded and you both grabbed your stuff and left the library, your fighting friends oblivious. Walking down the stairs with Armin by your side, you remembered something crucial.

You stopped a few steps from the ground level and Armin turned to face you from the floor. "Is something wrong?"

"Jean drove my brother and I to school this morning. Luca got picked up by my mom earlier for a doctor's appointment so I was planning on catching one with Mikasa or something. We have no ride."

"Well, I don't have my license."

"What about your mom?"

"She's still at the auto shop."

"Your dad?"

"The aquarium. Both of them are working until five-thirty tonight. It's barely three."

You bit your lip in thought as Armin watched you decide on what to do next. You lifted your hand from the railing and reached into your pocket for your phone as you remembered a better option than waiting at the school for an excessive amount of time.

"I know who can help." Quickly dialing Bertholdt's number, Armin continued to look at you with curiosity.

Bertholdt was the guy for these kinds of mixups. Nearly every day after school, he ran some sort of taxi service.

He and some of his other Marleyan friends hung out in his minivan a ton, so he created a way to make money out of the odd hangout spot.

With a small fee of five bucks, Bertholdt will drive you anywhere. It's a surprisingly well-known service that is wildly convenient for those who need a ride when all else fails.

"Hello?" Bertholdt's voice and several muffled noises came from the other side of the call.

"Hi, Bertholdt. This is Y/n. Armin and I are kind of stuck at the school right now. Can you swing by and pick us up?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there in ten," he assured and hung up.

The boy in front of you looked at you incredulously. "Hoover taxi service? I don't have money."

You met him at the foot of the stairs and you both walked towards the school's front doors. "Don't worry about it. I have my own."

He chewed on his lip, unsure. He looked down quickly when you turned your head in his direction as the cold air hit your faces.

The two of you waited on a bench near the doors until Bertholdt's minivan swung into the parking lot with immense speed.

The right door to the backseat slid open and one of Bertholdt's friends motioned for the both of you to hurry up. You entered the backseat with Armin crawling in behind you.

The guy that waved you overlooked up from his watch and greeted you two. "Hurry up, Y/n and co., we're on a tight schedule. We gotta drop off Annie at her girlfriend's house and pick up my brother from his stupid StudCo meeting."

"Nice to see you too, Porco," you said as he slid to the left seat, allowing you to sit in the middle and Armin to sit on your right.

There were five people in the car other than you and Armin. Two of them went to Marley high school and three went to Shiganshina.

Bertholdt and Reiner sat in the front, Annie and a tired-looking girl whom you'd never seen before sat in the way back.

You already knew Porco from the few times you've used Bertholdt's taxi services in dire situations and from Jean's incessant ranting about rival baseball teams. From what you'd heard, Porco was the best around, even better than Zeke when he played for Marley.

Annie, Reiner, and Bertholdt transferred to Shiganshina high school at the beginning of freshmen year. Before then, they'd attended Marley middle, located in the town they still lived in.

Reiner was the captain of the football team Bertholdt also played on, which was their ticket to popularity. The Titans were the best in the state. Annie's popularity, or lack of it, came from her girlfriend, Hitch, also known as the biggest gossip at SHS.

You didn't know who the messy-haired girl behind you was but she seemed very interested in observing you as you got comfortable in the car.

"Where to?" Bertholdt asked you.

"My house," Armin answered. "We needed a quiet place to study for the test tomorrow in Professor Smith's but there were... problems in the library."

"That's tomorrow?" Reiner mouthed at Bertholdt, who shrugged and let Armin type their address in on his phone before he set it down and started driving.

Porco ran a hand over his gelled back hair and turned to you. "You're friends with Jean right?"

You were hesitant to answer because you really didn't want to hear about baseball rivalries again. "Yes, why?"

He grimaced as if he got an answer he didn't want. "Tell him he's gotta haul ass to our field tomorrow. We've got a practice."

"He's got StudCo tomorrow. Practice with your own team."

Porco rolled his eyes. "Just tell him anyways."

You looked at him skeptically but pulled out your phone and added a reminder to your to-do list anyways. You noticed another thing you'd written down earlier.

Taking the borrowed baby blue scrunchie out of your jacket pocket, you turned to Annie and handed it to her. "Can you give that back to Hitch for me? Since you're seeing her later."

She nodded and took the hairpiece from your hand. She slipped it around her wrist and went back to staring out the small window.

The others chatted with each other while you scanned over the list of things you had to do on your phone.

The girl with black hair leaned forward and placed her chin on the seat next to your head. "Is that a to-do list?" she asked quietly.

You gave a small shrug. "Yeah, I guess so. It's more like a list of reminders."

She smiled warmly. "That's cute. My name is Pieck by the way."

You shot her a similar look and introduced yourself back. "I'm Y/n, but you probably already knew that." You laughed awkwardly.

She laughed too, hers sounding much nicer. "It's a good name. I like you already."

Before you could respond, Porco was practically shoving you and Armin out of the car. You hadn't even realized the car had come to a stop while talking to Pieck. "Chop chop, we've got places to be!"

You hurriedly handed Bertholdt the money and exited the car. You and Armin walked up to his front door and went outside.

He was quiet for a bit, frown etching his face as you two made your way up to his room in silence. Greeted by the familiar ocean postered walls and book-covered floor, you both sat down on his bed and pulled out the necessary studying supplies.

Noticing his discomfort, you laid a hand on his forearm, making him look up quickly. "Is something on your mind?"

He sighed and put his hand on top of yours, smiling faintly. "I can't hide anything from you," he paused, pursing his lips and contemplating whether or not he should voice his concerns. With your gentle eyes and worried expression, he knew nothing was getting past you. "Do you like hanging out with those kids from Marley?"

You pulled your hand back in surprise, not expecting him to ask something like that. "Yeah, I guess so. They're pretty cool."

Armin pushed their glasses up their nose with a slight frown. "I don't know if I agree."

"What do you mean?" you asked nervously, not liking what he was implying.

He brought his gaze down to the textbook in front of him. "Well, you know what Jean says about their team. They're kind of mean. You might not have noticed since you seemed busy with Pieck," he said bitterly.

"Did they say something to you? I can stop getting rides from Bertholdt if they said something mean to you."

Armin blushed deeply and looked back up. "They didn't, don't worry. You don't need to stop doing whatever you're doing. I just felt like they were judging me. It's stupid."

You giggled a bit. "Is that all? Armin, I can promise you that they weren't. If any of them seemed a little annoyed, it's probably because they had places to be. I don't know them very well but I don't believe they had any bad intentions. And about Jean, whatever he says about them on the field is just his silly sports stuff."

Armin exhaled into a breathy laugh. "You're right. You always are." He tucked a stray hair behind his ear and pulled out the flashcards you two were reviewing with earlier. You smiled softly and the two of you got back to studying.

A few hours of hard work mixed with a little goofing off passed and Armin's mom came upstairs to tell you your mother wanted you home.

You lifted yourself from Armin's bed, stretching your limbs and gathering your materials. Armin sat up fully and watched you sling your bag onto your back.

"Thanks for letting me come over after the dilemma earlier," you thanked him and hugged your history textbook closer to your chest.

He smiled genuinely. "Don't thank me. I should be thanking you for getting us out of the library before things got physical."

You laughed softly and tucked a hair behind your ear. It was silent for a few seconds before you spoke up again. "Well, I should get going."

"Yeah, probably."

You stood awkwardly on the rug of his bedroom before leaning down to press a kiss on his cheek. "Seriously, thank you for studying with me."

Armin looked at you wordlessly as you exited his room in a hurried step.

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[neptunetheplanet7]

chapter 2: eren jaeger meets his doom

armin arlert x f!reader

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It was way too early for this. The dreaded week of school was about to start officially in around five minutes. You dropped your backpack next to your seat and slumped over onto the desk.

Having history first thing every morning was something you would change if you could. Being somebody who slept as little as you did, an overly enthusiastic teacher was a good wake-up call but not something you wanted to deal with at such an early hour.

Out of the corner of your eye, you watched two of your friends enter the classroom. One of them was scrambling to his seat with a look of pure helplessness written across his face while the other kept her usual calm disposition.

Eren rummaged through his backpack in a frenzy while you mumbled a good morning greeting to the black-haired girl sitting in front of you.

From the bg came a blank paper you recognized as last night's English homework. Eren slid the paper on your desk with expectant wide green eyes.

You raised both eyebrows. "What is this for?"

The boy in front of you ran an anxious hand through his ever messy short hair and brought it back down on the paper. "Listen, you gotta help me with this."

Mikasa turned in her seat to face you. "Don't help him. It's pointless."

Eren scoffed. "Wow, thanks, dear sister. I'm so glad I can count on you to help out a brother in need," he remarked sarcastically.

"I'm adopted," she deadpanned.

"Shut up, Mikasa," he said, scowling before he turned to you with a look of desperation. "Please, Y/n, you have to help me. Ms. Ral is gonna be so mad."

You were about to spew a clever response but a certain blonde boy beat you to it. "More like Zeke is gonna be so mad," Armin remarked as sat down in the seat next to yours.

Eren paled, not by much since he was still so tan from the summer, but you could tell since he was leaning so unfortunately close to you.

His eye twitched cartoonishly and he seemed to know the fate that awaits him in fifth-period English, which might have been your new favorite class after this day.

"Ah yes, my favorite brother," Mikasa quipped.

Eren was quick to clap back. "You're adopted, Mikasa. Plus, he's my half brother so that makes him your quarter brother."

Armin frowned. "I don't think that's how that works."

You patted their shoulder. "Just let him think what he wants. There's a reason why he flunked math last year, even with Mikasa's help."

Eren's light freckles danced as he made all sorts of offended expressions. "You don't know how hard algebra can be! When did this become hate on Eren day? You should be helping me. Y/n, you do your homework. Give me the answers now, pretty please."

"No."

He looked utterly perplexed that he was shut down again that morning. "How could you do this to me? After all I've done for you."

You folded your arms over your hoodie. "And what exactly have you done for me?"

He glanced away in thoughtfulness then snapped his fingers in realization. "I washed your car for you. Over the summer. Many times."

"That doesn't count. It was my mother's car and you only did it because you lost a bet to my twelve-year-old brother."

He pushed his lower lip out in a pout. "Well, believe it or not, I do many things for you out of the kindness of my heart."

"I've never seen it," Mikasa claimed. Armin snickered to himself at Eren's hurt expression.

You tried to reduce your laugh to a false cough as you slid Eren's incomplete homework off of your desk and onto his. "Maybe next time, champ."

His defeated look and wordless mouthing did nothing for him as your teacher announced the start of class.

This was your cue to zone out and drift off into a peaceful sleep. This was an honors history class, and you were in a good place. What harm could it do?

A tap on your shoulder stopped you from fulfilling your plans. You turned around to see Ymir, a freckled girl with a not particularly friendly reputation, holding out a folded sticky note.

"Pass this to Historia, will you?" She nodded in the direction of the blonde girl sitting in the front row a few columns over.

You took the note from her hand and passed it on to Armin, telling him who needed to receive it.

He passed it Reiner, who was sat diagonal from him, despite Ymir's frantic hand motions to stop the action. Reiner took the note, furrowing his eyebrows as Armin told him to pass it to the clueless girl in front of him.

He looked behind him at Ymir's pleading expression and smirked as he crumpled the note and threw it back at her forehead.

Armin watched the exchange and mouthed an apology to Ymir. She only waved him off and began writing a new note.

Your teacher was droning on about something horrendously boring and no matter how enthused he was with the topic, that couldn't stop you from drifting off once more.

The nap you were having was relatively good until the loud sound of wood slapping your desk jolted you awake. You leaned back in your chair as Professor Smith looked down at you sternly.

He walked back to the board and pointed his yardstick at you in disappointment. You had no idea why he always had one but for some odd reason, he did. Then again, Professor Smith was an odd guy.

"This, my students, is what happens when you don't dedicate your hearts to a proper sleep schedule. You fall asleep during the most important class of the day!" He swiped a blonde piece of hair off his forehead in frustration.

You looked at Armin, hoping to get some sympathy, but he was too busy trying to contain his laughter to take pity on you. Eren was doing similarly, only he made an effort to make sure you knew he found your suffering funny.

After the embarrassing moment in history that morning, which you were glad Jean wasn't there to see, the day passed by awfully slow.

By the time lunch rolled around, you were so relieved to eat that you forgot you had English afterward and that Eren is a dumbass.

So there you were at the lunch table, listening to Eren complain about the homework he didn't do for what felt like the millionth time that day.

Mikasa, who was far beyond tired of listening to him, was reading one of her old sapphic stories while Armin sat on his other side with earbuds in and flashcards in his hands. That left you alone to hear about Eren's incessant dumbassery.

Jean tossed his tray onto the table and pushed your head down toward the table. "At least try to look interested in what he's saying."

He took his usual seat next to you and took the apple off of your tray. You gave him a look that said, "What the hell?" and he just shrugged in response.

Eren glanced between the two of you and slid the piece of paper to Jean. "Read this."

Jean looked over the paper and looked back up at Eren with a raised eyebrow. "There's nothing to read. You didn't answer any of the questions on here."

You snorted into your tiny milk carton as Eren glared at the copper-haired boy next to you.

He pointed a stern finger at him and licked his lips. "I'll have you know that I am too brilliant for this type of thing."

Jean clicked his tongue. "Stop with that BS. You want me to help you with this? I can't, I'm not in honors English with the rest of you. I don't even know how you got recommended."

Eren snapped his fingers and grinned. "Keyword: Mikasa."

Jean rolled his eyes. "Of course, how could I forget?"

You snickered and pushed the paper back to Eren. "Give up now. No one's gonna help you now. You're doomed."

He groaned and slumped his head onto the table. "I know. Please don't rub it in."

You picked up your tray and let Jean stack his on top before heading over to the cleaning window, surprised to see Ymir and Reiner inside washing trays. "Who put you two together for tray duty?" you asked as you slid both trays through the window.

Ymir glared at Reiner. "This idiot got me caught passing 'Toria notes."

Reiner scoffed. "Try to get a little closer to the truth. Professor Smith is smarter than I thought. He saw her writing the note."

"So then why were you punished?"

He shrugged and tugged at the school-issued apron. "Because I tried snitching on her. Plus I threw the sticky note in her face."

"Funny, he doesn't like snitches. That was your first mistake."

Reiner's shoulders sagged as he sighed. "Yeah, this sucks majorly."

You nodded and carefully eyed Ymir, who was lurking behind Reiner with a finger raised to her lips and the sink's spray nozzle in the other hand.

"I could be eating right now but- Jesus Christ! Ymir, what the hell are you doing?" Reiner yelled when the cold water hit his back. Ymir grinned mischievously as he shouted threats and complaints at her.

You went back to your table, no longer wanting any part in that. Jean was slinging his backpack onto his shoulders while whining about not being in fifth-period english with the rest of you.

"Don't you fret, Jean. I'll tell you all about it later." You patted his shoulder and lightly pushed him in the direction of Professor Smith's classroom.

"We'll see you at PC later, right?" Armin called after him, referring to your usual Monday meetups at Paradis Convenience.

Jean turned around and continued to walk backward. "Sorry, you know I usually would, but practice was canceled yesterday so it's happening today. Eren's skipping though, so don't worry about him." He turned forwards again and slipped into his classroom.

"Eren, you know you really shouldn't skip baseball practice." Mikasa frowned as the four of you rounded the corner to the English department.

"Zeke definitely wouldn't like that," you added casually.

Eren groaned dreadfully. "Can you all spare a little sympathy for me? I'm going through hard times."

"No," you said in unison and took your seats.

Eren was glad he sat in the back row next to Armin. His chances of Ms. Ral calling on him were much lower than yours and Mikasa's, who sat at the joint desk in front of him.

Zeke was everyone's favorite sub because he was awfully calm and unintentionally funny. His half-brother was the only one who didn't like him working in the school. Well, the janitor didn't like him very much either.

"Okay, everyone, Ms. Ral said she assigned a few questions for homework last night so if you could all pass your papers to the front row, I'll collect them.

You heard Eren gulp behind you and you snickered to yourself. You turned in your seat and reached out expectantly. An eyebrow raised, you said, "Well?"

He was rightfully ashamed, that much was clear when you looked at the messy "IDK :)" scribbled under each question. You had to stifle the laughing fit that was sure to slip out if you didn't pass it to Bertholdt quick enough.

As Zeke gathered the papers and flipped through them, he frowned at one. Eren knew he was in deep. He shrank down in his seat, trying to hide from Zeke's wandering eyes.

They found him, however, and narrowed. "Jaeger, see me after class."

__

"And then he threatened to tell dad but I'm not scared of him! I'm not a kid anymore," Eren declared as he shoved more quarters into the rocket ship machine he was sitting in. "He also laughed in my face. This is a cruel, cruel world we live in."

You couldn't help the laughter that bubbled past your lips. "You're such a moron. I mean, no, you're so smart and I feel so, so sorry for you."

Mikasa snorted into her ICE drink and Armin threw his head back onto the brick of the convenience store, not caring enough to stifle their laughs.

Eren glared at the three of you. "Don't you laugh. That was mean."

"Pretty sure that was the point," Armin remarked as they tossed some goldfish into their mouth. "Do you really not see the irony in your words? You've been playing on a kids toy for the past hour and a half."

Eren took an angry sip of his soda and flipped the three of you off.

Mikasa swiveled her head around you and Armin to look him in the eyes. "Speaking of time, can we go home now? Who cares if dad is upset with you? It's your own fault. I'm hungry and it's getting cold out."

"Eat your hair. Just let me have one more ride."

Her cold gray eyes narrowed even further. "You said that five rides ago."

He put up his hands defensively. "And I mean it now!"

She sighed lightly and grabbed onto Eren's hood, leaving you and Armin alone with a one-word goodbye as she dragged him away, much to his obvious dismay.

Armin sighed and you looked up from your bag of chips. "Something wrong?"

"I just remembered there's a history test on Wednesday and I've been putting off studying for it."

You froze. "There's a history test?"

He stared at you for a moment and then burst out laughing. You didn't even care that it was mean of him to laugh at your misfortune because it sounded so nice.

"It was announced last week. Professor Smith was right, you do need to pay attention more."

You blushed, embarrassed to be caught slacking by someone so smart. "I get by just fine, thank you very much."

"Sure you do. If it helps, I'm going to the library after school tomorrow to study, if you wanna tag along."

You grinned, gratefully. "That would help a lot, thanks."

He smiled back with tinted cheeks. "Anytime."

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[neptunetheplanet7]

chapter 1: slurpee run

armin arlert x f!reader

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The wind blew the thin strands of hair that weren't pulled back in an updo around your face. You tugged your jacket closer to your body and took a long sip of the blue drink in your hand.

It was around four p.m. on an afternoon in late November and the sun was beginning to set. The air was chilly, your slurpee making it colder.

A friend of yours stood on either side of you, both conversing about something you hadn't been listening to until the boy on your left spoke rather loudly.

"What I don't understand is why our team is called the Titans when they get something cool like the Warriors." Jean rolled his eyes and took an angry sip of his cherry slurpee. His dark eyebrows furrowed as he stared forward at the sandy hair blowing in his eyes.

If there was one thing you knew about your best friend, it was that things were better if you didn't engage in his rambling about Marley, the neighboring, claimed "rival", school.

The blonde on your right shrugged and peered back at him through thick-rimmed blue glasses. His wide brown eyes had never looked bigger. "I don't know, Jean. I think the Titans is a pretty cool name." Armin pushed the glasses up his nose. Noticing that you saw the movement, his shoulders tensed and he looked down at his shoes. "These make me look pathetic, don't they?"

You shook your head rapidly. "You look great, don't worry." You smiled genuinely as he shyly tucked a blowing strand of hair behind his ear.

"Thanks. They're pretty stupid, though. They keep sliding down my nose." Jean laughed at the small pout etching Armin's face.

"It's because of your nose shape," he suggested.

Armin looked mildly offended. "What's wrong with my nose shape?"

You let out a noise of disapproval. "Nothing's wrong with your nose, Min. You've got a cute nose. I just don't think those glasses were made for a nose like yours. Jean didn't have this issue because he's got a horse nose."

Jean narrowed his eyes warningly. "Don't even go there."

"You wear glasses, Jean? I've never seen you with them on. What do you need them for?" Armin asked curiously.

"Nothing. My vision is perfect." Jean sneered at you, desperately trying to make you shut up.

"It wasn't always perfect. His mom showed me pictures of him before he moved here. He needed glasses all throughout elementary and middle school," you said through an innocent smile. However, you were casting sly eyes at Jean.

"You said you'd keep that a secret," he grumbled.

You shrugged and took another sip of your slurpee. Armin's head perked up suddenly.

"Wait, did you say there were pictures?" A grin could be seen on his face despite his efforts trying to fight it off.

Jean was quick to defend the little honor he had left. "No! She didn't! There are no pictures." He looked down at his slurpee shamefully. "At least none for your viewing pleasure," he muttered to himself before continuing to angrily chew on his straw.

Armin shook his head and looked back down at his own slurpee with a small smile.

The three of you stood against the exterior wall of Paradise Convenience in silence. There was nothing more to say to each other. You'd been hanging out with them for a couple of hours now and it seemed you'd either run out of things to talk about or you were just too tired to talk at all.

The light revving of an engine made you look up from the sea of blue in your cup. The driver honked their horn and you sent them a wave and a smile upon realizing it was Armin's mom.

She smiled back at you and Jean before gesturing for Armin to get in the car. He gave us rushed goodbyes and hurried into his mother's pickup truck.

You took one last long sip of your slurpee before tossing it into a nearby trash can. Jean threw his in after you and swung an arm over your shoulders. You didn't question it, as it was a normal occurrence, but from the teasing smirk he wore you had a bad feeling about what was coming next.

He paid no mind to the skeptical expression on your face as he guided you to his car on the opposite side of the lot.

Breaking the silence between you two, he snickered but continued to look ahead. You rose an eyebrow when the taunting tone was all too evident in his voice, "Y/n, dear Y/n, how are you so stupid?"

"Excuse me?"

He laughed loudly and pulled your body closer to his. He whispered close to your ear, "You can't even see how that boy feels about you. Forget that, you can't even see how you feel."

You were quick to roll your eyes and shove him away. He knew he was crossing dangerous territory yet he made no move to wipe the seemingly knowing smirk off his lips. "This again? Piss off for once, why don't you."

He grinned widely and put his hands up in surrender. "Someone's easily irritated," he remarked carelessly, as if he didn't know from experience that this was the kind of thing that got you all riled up. "As your most bestest friend, I know that your obliviousness never ends."

When you both finally made it to the car, you made an extra effort to slam the door, knowing he would grimace at that. "Choose your next words carefully."

He turned away from you with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. "All I'm saying is, you should start paying more attention to things like that."

"Things like what?"

He took one hand off the steering wheel to flick your forehead. "Oh, come on. Don't tell me you missed his reaction to you compliments."

You frowned. "There was no reaction."

"Wrong! For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Once again, you rolled your eyes at his so called "knowledge" of physics. "He only gets shy like that when you compliment him. Frankly, I don't think he cares much for compliments unless they're from you."

"Just stop talking, Jean-boy."

You smiled to yourself when you saw his hands tighten on the steering wheel. "What'd I say about that nickname?"

"That it makes you mad?" you answered quickly.

Jean rolled his eyes and made an exasperated hand gesture at you. "Well, yeah. But I also said that it wouldn't distract me from talking about Armin."

Your grin faltered slightly before you regained your confidence. "Would talking about Marco distract you?" His olive skin was suddenly tinted red. He nearly swerved off the road.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," he said, swallowing nervously and running a hand through his short hair.

"Who's the oblivious one now?" you teased.

"I'm not oblivious to my feelings," he argued. "Unlike some of us, I can actually recognize how I'm feeling and deal with it from there."

You raised an eyebrow. "And how exactly are you dealing with it?"

"By ignoring it."

Snorting at that, you folded your arms. "Oh, yeah. But apparently you're the expert here."

"Oh shut up." He paused, contemplating whether or not he should further delve into your love life. "Is there anyone you know you have eyes for?"

Your conversations with him always seemed to resort back to this topic as you got older. If you didn't know Jean the way you did, you'd think he was into you. "Not at the moment, but I'll be sure to let you know when that changes."

He snuck another mischievous glance at you. "When, you say? So you have hope that you, the one who is most uninterested in falling in love, will eventually fall in love?"

"You know it." The sarcastic tone of your voice should've swayed him.

"Great. Now get out of my car, we're here."

You messed up his hair, much too his dismay, before you left the car. You made sure to slam the car door again before running to the front door.

You were about to walk inside before you heard Jean call your name once again. You turned around to see him leaning against the roof of his car with his hands cupped around his mouth.

"Don't forget that you do have options!" he shouted before jumping back into the car.

"Shut up!" you yelled back but he was already zooming down the road.

You opened the door to your house and stepped inside, kicking off your shoes and hanging up your coat.

Your mother and younger brother both called out a greeting from the kitchen when the door closed behind you.

Your brother quickly went back to getting angry at his math homework

"Welcome back, Y/n!" your mother called from the kitchen. You walked over and saw her making something at the stove and your little brother doing homework.

He looked up from his sheet of math problems and shot you a grin. You sent an identical one back and ruffled his hair.

You mother turned around to give you a similar smile as she placed both hands on the countertop. "How're Jean and Armin?"

"They're great. We had a nice time."

She smiled warmly. "That's good. What was Jean yelling about outside?"

"Oh, nothing important. Just how I need to be more open minded about things. Do you need any help with the food?"

She looked you over skeptically. "No, I'm it's almost done. Make sure you tell Jean he's free to hang out here when he wants to."

You nodded and grimaced at her not so subtly hints at thinking the two of you were into each other. Just as you were about to head up to your room, you realized there was something missing. "Where's dad?"

Your mother sighed in annoyance. "At work. He'll be home late again."

You understood that it was better not to ask but you could never stop yourself from hoping it'd be different.

"This is stupid!" your brother slammed his pencil against the counter and glared at the paper in front of him. You raised your eyebrows, not fully used to his outbursts yet. Middle school was evidently a challenge for him.

"What's up, Luca?"

"Nothing makes sense and I want to die."

"I hear you."

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[neptunetheplanet7]

prologue

armin arlert x f!reader

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You trudged through the leaves, picking up stones as you made your way through the woods. The sun shone through the trees and heated your face. There was a nice breeze blowing around you. It was peaceful and you were alone, just the way you liked it.

Your arms were full of rocks different shapes and sizes by the time you heard the familiar trickle of water from the stream. Peeking your head through the branches, you noticed something different.

There was a blonde boy reading a book sitting in front of a tree on the other side of the creek. This was the first time you'd seen anyone in a spot of the woods you thought was a secret.

"Hey, what are you doing here? Who are you?" you asked boldly.

The boy looked startled as he looked up from his book. "I'm reading. What are you doing here?"

You scrunched up your nose in obvious annoyance. "I'm building a rock bridge. This is my creek. Who are you?"

The boy looked nervous. "My name is Armin. I live over there." He pointed somewhere behind him. "I didn't know this was your creek. I just wanted a good place to read."

You relaxed your shoulders, carefully setting down your pile of rocks. Any anger you carried rolled off of you in an instant. "You can stay as long as you help me with my bridge."

Armin smiled and put his book down. He stepped over the steady stream of water and kneeled down next to your rock pile.

"I'm Y/n. I live near here too," you finally said.

Armin smiled again. "It's nice to meet you."

You two followed the same routine for the rest of that summer. Every day you would come to the creek with more rocks and Armin would be found again this tree with a new book.

He'd often tell you all about his books while helping you build the bridge and you listened intently, making sure not to interrupt him.

He told you all sorts of things. His mom was a mechanic, his dad worked at an aquarium. He showed a passionate interest in marine biology. His favorite movie was Homeward Bound even though it made him cry. You figured out you were both going into sixth grade at the same school, luckily enough.

He even told you about the two kids that moved in next door to him. Their names were Eren and Mikasa and they were going to Shiganshina Middle as well. He said he'd make sure to introduce you.

Eventually, the last day of summer came along and your bridge was finished. It wasn't the most sturdy thing in the world but that didn't stop you both from being very proud of it.

You wiped your hands on your shorts and turned to the boy next to you. "Thank you for helping me, Armin. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you."

He looked back and gave you a simple smile. "You're welcome. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

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